Thankfulness Instead of Busyness

Thankfulness Instead of Busyness

 

“The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart.

He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”

Psalm 28:7 NLT

“I’m packing more than my things for this trip, I’m packing all my anxieties too. I have so many people that need me right now, and I just feel overwhelmed,” I overheard the woman in line at the drug store say the other day.

As I pondered this woman’s situation I felt the Lord nudge me to pay attention. There was a lesson for life here He wanted me to focus on.

And sure enough that very evening as I was putting away some books on the shelf and an old and tattered copy of Come Away My Beloved by Frances J. Roberts just happened to fall off and into my hands. I’ve learned this; there are never coincidences with God, only opportunities to see Him at His best work.

I flipped the book open and glanced at the titles and one held my attention and drew me to read it.

 “Oh My child, be not overcharged with the cares of everyday living, and let not thine energies be consumed by the humdrum tasks. Such as is needful, ye must do, but if ye put the ministry of the Kingdom in first place, My strength shall be yours for the other tasks, and time shall be given thee for both.” -Frances J Roberts, Come Away My Beloved

A prayer to God today:

“Father, help us to keep every message and promise in Your Word and pay attention to Your calling on us to come away with You. With all the demands on us let us hear You speak in our heart and always put you on the top of our to-do list.

Thank you for Your Holy Spirit who gives us the gift of discernment to know when to say yes, when to say no, and when to let go.

We can trust You in all things knowing Your timing is perfect and you will give us time for everything that is important to You.

May Your grace and blessings help us to focus on thankfulness instead of busyness as we lean on You more and more every day.

“Thankfulness Instead of Busyness” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© October 23, 2014

That Was You God-Wasn't It!

 



Photo by: Dee Kamp

 

 



That Was You God ―Wasn’t It!

How does it feel when you find that wadded up money in the pocket of the coat or jacket you haven’t worn since last season?

How does it feel to find a long lost wrist watch which was a very special gift in a place you never thought to look before?

 And how does it feel to suddenly run into an old friend you haven’t heard from in a very long time and have been thinking a lot about lately?

 “Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation.” Psalm 35:9 NIV

How do we feel at these unexpected moments? We feel delightful and blessed. For in those times we find ourselves lifting up our head and saying: “this was You God, wasn’t’ it!”

We would be even more grateful if we realized how much of what we take for granted that happens is planned and gifted by God. For the One who loves us most delights in our thanksgiving and praise and He delights surprising us with the little unexpected gifts, as only He can.

And oh those treasures and gifts we discover new every day in His Word! A verse read many times lights up, encourages us, and strengthens us in ways we never expected. After all, let us never forget― it’s all planned by God.

The real treasure found is knowing how much God loves us in surprising us in ways only He can do. And then in delight He waits to hear us say, “That was you God wasn’t it!”

“That Was You God-Wasn’t It!” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© October 22, 2014

Stitch by Stitch



Campground by moon light by Dee Kamp

Stich by Stich

I first saw her on my early morning walk sitting at a campground picnic table all bundled up against the mountainside chill. I was surprised someone else was up before dawn and outside too. But it was not this so much that caught my attention as did the huge Bible she was bent over in prayer.

I couldn’t resist dropping by and saying hello to introduce myself and share I too was a believer. She smiled warmly and invited me to sit down and visit. What a lovely divine appointment God had in store for me that day, what an interesting story and testimony she was about to share.  

“Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.’” Luke 14:23 NIV

She invited me to sit down at her table and her most interesting story of faith began.

 “I’m recently widowed and living in this camper traveling the roads in obedience to God’s calling. You see my husband died young and un-expectantly from cancer. To pay all the bills I had to sell the house and what I had left was this camper and a lifetime camping membership around the USA. My best memories of my husband are while we were camping and traveling.

“When I prayed with my Bible study group at church for help on what to do and where to live, they shared with me Luke 14:23, a word from God they said. This was a real puzzlement to me then, I had no idea what that meant.

“But God was faithful to take me step and step and soon His plan unfolded as I continued to pray and I grew to know for certain the Lord wanted me to witness and be among other travelers as I drove around this country in my camper.

“So I asked the Lord, be among them and do what exactly what Lord? I’m not a pastor or trained speaker, not even a teacher.”

“That’s when I heard Him in my heart say- crochet!”

“Well it’s something I love and know how to do well, but it still wasn’t very clear how you share the Lord with stitches and not words.

“As I shared this plan of the Lord with my family and prayer group I was greatly encouraged to go and do it! Pretty soon I had enough donated yarn and needles to crochet dozens of afghan blankets! I give them all away these days to anyone who wants them or I see they need one.

 “I don’t speak to others about Jesus with words, but with stitches now. I simply go somewhere in the campground or where others are gathered, crochet and sit quietly. Pretty soon someone joins me and they begin to talk and share and I just listen giving no advice but simply asking if they would like me to pray for them. I’ve not had one say no, they always accept.”

What an encouraging testimony this was to me and many. And she shared God’s miracles and divine appointments providing help I the nick of time from food, gas, tires and of course, more yarn to stitch.

We can truly count on God to create good from hard unforeseen circumstances and adversities in life when we turn to Him for everything and with a heart to serve Him. He meets us where we are, and sometimes He will uproot a person from their home to plant seeds of faith across the nation stitch by stich. 

“Stitch by Stitch” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© October 16, 2014

No Other Will Suffice

Alone on Beach by Dee Kamp

 

No Other Will Suffice

 

There is nothing more worth living or than to satisfy God in His longing for our fellowship and love. His Word is all we need, no other will suffice.

"We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” 1Colossians 1:11-14 NLT

It’s a divine appointment, by His mysterious ways, when we are urged in our heart to begin or end our day alone with God, reading and praying in His Word. The vigor of our prayer life is in exact proportion to the time spent in the Bible and alone with God. Resources needed, recovery and strength, hope, redemption, grace received and the peace of His presence has no equal.  

”I have read the Bible thorough one hundred times, and always with increasing delight. Each time it seems like a new book to me. Great has been the blessing from consecutive, diligent, daily study. I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God.” D.L. Moody

“No Other Will Suffice” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© October 13, 2014

 

 

Wholeheartedly

Photo by: Dee Kamp

 

Wholeheartedly

            “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: “Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.” 1 Kings 8:22-24 NIV

            Everything God does He does it with His whole heart, with great passion and purpose. God is greatly pleased with the wholehearted person. And there are times in our lives when God puts others in and around us to greatly influence us with their wholehearted passion for Him.

            A longtime friend of mine, for nearly thirty years, has moved across country, miles away. But people in our lives really never leave us, for a little bit of themselves is left behind forever in our heart. In this case my friend leaves with me her gift, her legacy of a wholeheartedness.

            None of us pass through this life without affecting others’ lives. No matter how brief it is, we are living legacies of our faith as we go about our life. I have had people since I was a little child who God has put in my path in His miraculous timing that have influenced me greatly. Their great passion for God and their enthusiasm for life and sharing God have made a profound difference in my life.

            It’s sad to have a good friend move away, but there is this memory of her I will cherish forever in my heart. It’s her passion and wholeheartedness for the Lord.

             “Others are affected by what I say and do. And these others have also these spheres of influence. So that a single act of mine may spread in widening circles through a nation of humanity.” ―William Ellery Channing

“Wholeheartedly” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© October 9, 2014

 

 

 

God is Always One Step Ahead



 

God is Always One Step Ahead

Years ago, when my work place was shifting management positions,  I realized it was time for me take a step away and in a new direction. I was ready, but what and where would my new job be?

 Was I too old to begin all over again? I pondered in my heart. But God had already planted an idea of what that might be. After so many years of working in corporations and for their profits, now I wanted to work and serve God for a higher purpose.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think (Ephesians 3:20-21NLT).

I checked the help wanted ads of the local paper and there as if highlighted by a yellow marker was a position available which made my heart skip a beat. It was a job for which I had no training or experience.  Yet I knew I must try, it excited me in a way I had not experienced in years.  Imagine, I thought, they call it a job, when I could think of nothing else but an opportunity of a lifetime to tutor children in reading and writing skills.

It took courage to be a fifty plus year old person and shoot for a job in a program designed for young adults either attending or about to enter college. Later on I laughed to discover I was one of the oldest persons to be hired in the Washington Reading Corps state program in our area. But God had a plan and a purpose and I soon found myself whisked up and hired by AmeriCorps.  This window of opportunity was thrown wide open by God and He was way ahead of me every step of the way.

Of all the counties in our state, of all the communities filled with schools around who participated in this program, God chose a particular school, and one very gifted woman just for me. Janie called me the moment she got the memo from AmeriCorps of people available for hire. She then took me under her wing to train me in a special program for struggling readers in first and second grade. I was one of the few in the state to work directly in small groups with the children. I simply couldn’t believe it. “God is always steps ahead of me,” I said to her in delight.

Janie was a woman I had met years before as one as my favorite customers when we owned the Beaver Valley Store. I had no idea what her profession was and now at just this precise time when she needed help in her program, God brought us expectantly together to fill her need. Janie and I were amazed at God’s timing. This would not have been available at any other time, and would not come up again in the future.

In all my years of working, those two years in the program proved to be one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever experienced. I learned a big lesson in the importance of completely surrendering to God. He knew what I needed and where I was needed, even when I didn’t know what to ask for!

"Spread out your petition before God, and then say, "Thy will, not mine, be done." The sweetest lesson I have learned in God's school is to let the Lord choose for me."— Dwight L. Moody

“God is Always One Step Ahead” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© October 6, 2014

 

 

On the Spot Prayer

Hot Air Balloon Lifted Higher by Dee Kamp

On the Spot Prayer

I was about to say goodbye after a long distant conversation on the phone with my friend when her voice rose as she said with great earnest, “But wait, before you hang up I want to pray for you first.”

“….The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 NIV

I will never forget how surprised by her spontaneity of prayer and how it lifted my spirits and encouraged me right then and there.  

So often I have said, “Of course I’ll pray for you.” And I plan to do it later on. But I have also sensed a little tug on my heart by the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray on the spot.

But praying on the spot, outside the box and unsure what we’ll say, or if we want to, will surprise us and delight us how powerfully punctual it blesses and lifts the heart of another.

The Lord loves those who pray in all places and for all peoples, and He always hears the prayer of the righteous. But He may also be prompting us to pray on the spot and later on too. Send a heavy heart up to God, it will be heard, welcomed and rewarded.

“When we pray, God has promised to hear us. That promise is our guarantee of His attention. Today as we pray, rest in the certainty of God’s presence and full ear. If you don’t feel like praying, just tell God and leave the rest to Him.” Corrie Ten Boom

“On the Spot Prayer” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© October 2, 2014