Category: Blessing

When Life Gives You Lemons. . .

2/16/2016

Lord, this broken world is attempting to fill me with its defective ways. It haunts me, taunts and teases me with enticing vices day and night. It gives no rest, no peace; only busyness and a false sense of security leaving me with fractured dreams and an injured spirit.

I want to walk in freedom, not the flesh. I want to walk in the Spirit according to my calling, not the carnal ways of this world. I want to serve through liberty and love, not the law or the lusts of my own flesh. (Galatians 5:13-15)

I present myself to you as an act of worship. I ask that you cleanse me of self, empty me of selfish ambition; renew all of me--body, mind, and spirit. (Romans 12:1,2)

I'm an empty vessel, Lord; fill me with the fruit of Your Spirit. Fill me so full that when the world presses in and squeezes my very being, the outpouring will be the sweet fruit juices of Your Spirit. Make me a fountain of Your blessing that nourishes those I meet.

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A Blessing of Protection

1/25/2016

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Whatever challenge you may be facing today, I pray the Lord will bless you, keep you safe, and give you great peace. We have a good, good Father who will never leave us nor forsake us. When the storms of life dump events on us that can freeze us in our tracks, remember that the nearness of God is our good and we can take refuge in Him. (Psalm 73:28)

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Breath of Heaven

12/21/2015

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Bethlehem was a busy place that day. People coming and going, brushing against one another on the crowded streets, they barely had room to breathe. Everyone was caught up in the chaos of finding a place to stay while going through the process of registering for the first census decreed by Caesar Augustus.

Enter weary Joseph and Mary. No vacancy signs everywhere. Mary could barely breathe herself…birth pangs. The only act of compassion was for them to be given shelter in a stable. As Mary laid there, she took in one more breath of air, winced and exhaled to give her final push, and the Breath of Heaven arrived. He came to breathe new life into lives caught in the stranglehold and chaos of sin.

Today, the chaos of daily living leaves us with barely any room to breathe. We’ve got a chronic lung disease that’s slowly robbing us of the ability to take a breath and don’t even realize it. We desperately need the Breath of Heaven to breathe new life into us; to renew us, to restore us, to heal us of the pollutants we’ve inhaled physically, spiritually, emotionally in a week’s time.

Enter the Sabbath. . .a designated time to make room for God. . . to breathe in the exhaled Breath of Heaven.

A time of Sabbath does not necessarily need to be on a Sunday. In actuality, we are in need of times of sabbath rest on a daily basis. Here’s my Sabbath blessing/prayer for each of us as we seek to prepare our hearts and make room for the Breath of Heaven. I paraphrased the song by Amy Grant, “Breath of Heaven.”

Breath of Heaven, hold us together as we struggle under the load we each bear. You are Emmanuel, God with us; we pause and acknowledge You are with us now. We have no need to walk this path alone. Bring light to the dark areas, expose our sins so we may be holy for You are holy. Lord, we are frail, but we offer all that we are to You. Have mercy upon us, strengthen us, help us breathe in You and exhale You in order to bring life into a world that is cold and lifeless. We pause now, Lord. . .breathe new life into our chaotic mess of a life. For the sake of Your Son, Amen.

Are you or someone you know experiencing a December Kind of Grief and finding it hard to breathe?

I'd like to suggest clicking over to my post called, A December Kind of Grief. I would love to pray for you. Please feel free to contact me here. Your request will be sent to me as an email and will not be posted as a comment.

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A Blessing for Joy

11/20/2015

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I wanted to share what's been on my heart this week.

Joy in the midst of pain, conflict, and sorrow seems to be an oxymoron. And yet the truth about the source of joy can be found in Psalm 16:11, “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

Joy comes from the very presence of God. It doesn’t negate other emotions, it transcends them. The presence of God is joy. That place where His presence (joy) and our pain, conflict, sorrow intersect…that is peace, knowing He’s with us, He’s got it all under control.

I’m praying a Blessing for Joy over each of you for the coming weekend:
He is the God of peace. He is the God of joy. May Emmanuel, who came to be with us, be with you in every step of this weekend's journey. May you know He is present with you throughout each day. And may you reflect His joy in all you do. Go forth in joy. May this be your heart’s cry, “Lord, let me live so people will praise you.” Psalm 143:11

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Sanctuary Sunday ~ Abba Daddy!

6/21/2015

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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and comes down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. - James 1:17

He's our Abba Father, Daddy, and He's written a love letter to us, a summary of His book of love to us. (Click on link to download or print out the love letter.)

You are worthy, dear Father, of every word of praise my imagination can find and every word of thanks my tongue can pronounce. You are glorious, majestic, holy, mighty, and awesome. You are patient, forgiving, sacrificial, loving, and tender. You are more than I can imagine and closer than my very breath. Your greatness exhausts my vocabulary, and your generosity overwhelms my heart. Please be glorified in my every thought, deed, and word. In Jesus' name I praise you. Amen.

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He Will Never Leave Us

6/4/2015

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Hey weary soul, are you feeling invisible today? Not feeling His presence? The truth is we're human, and we can't trust our feelings. They're as fleeting as leaves on a tree, here for a season, then gone. Not "feeling" His presence has its purposes. Sometimes He needs to bring us to a place of repentance of sin or a place of despair so we will seek Him. Other times He may be teaching us to cling to what we know about Him. His presence is not based upon our feelings; it's based upon what we know to be true about God. And what we know is this: His promises in Scripture assure us of His abiding presence (Hebrews 13:5). He wants us to know His REAL presence, not only His FELT presence.

Do you have a seemingly insurmountable task ahead of you? He goes before you; He is with you. Don't be afraid of the unknown ahead.

"The LORD is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

Today may you be confident of His presence; certain of His promises, and assured of His love.

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Distressed? Depressed? Be at Rest.

5/24/2015

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Oh weary soul,
don't let the current events of this world bring you distress.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation,
but take courage; I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

Oh child of God,
don't be troubled, you are not alone....
He left The Comforter with us to set our hearts at peace.

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives, do I give to you.
Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” - John 14:27

Oh restless one,
He is our fortress in the storms of life, our rock, our salvation.
Be at rest.

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” - Psalm 62:1-2

May you go forth today being reminded of His promises to you.
He will never leave you, nor forsake you.
Rest in Him and His promises.

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” - Exodus 33:14 “
You are loved with an everlasting love. - Jeremiah 31:3

This weekend I'm linking up with my friend, Barbie over at My Freshly Brewed Life for her Weekend Brew. Feel free to join us. Share a post, photo scripture - anything that breathes life and encourages. I'm also linking up with Scripture and Snapshot today.

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Trending Now! Oops...You Missed It!

5/12/2015

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Emails clutter our mailboxes, Newsfeed and Twitter feed change at break neck speed with what's trending now... RIGHT NOW.... oops! You blinked, you missed it! On to the next Breaking News story.
Our hearts race, we fret, life is dog-earred and breeding with discontent.

We go for a run or a walk to burn off calories....Endorphins released to burn off the stress, heart rate up to burn off the calories...that's all good, but we're still caught up in the world's rhythm of rush. We fail to pause and see the tiny little blessings of living life at a slower pace. God created all things for us to enjoy and to point us to Him. He desires us to slow down enough to see and enjoy beauty of His handiwork.

Sometimes we can't help the rush of life. It just so happens that life IS trending now at break neck speed...not by choice, but God has allowed this season of life ultimately for His glory. Keep seeking Him in the midst of the blur. Be alert to ways you can honor Him by saying 'Thank You, Lord' for even the smallest of things that bless your heart. Did someone hold an elevator door open for you while you rushed to reach the bedside of a loved one? Thank the person, and thank God for that person. We each have a different set of circumstances. Look for ways to say, 'Thank You.'

We see life through our own pair of eyes (that God gave us - have you thanked Him?). My eyes capture moments of beauty in nature. That's how He wired me...to stop, look, and listen for Him in the ordinary. The tiniest of flowers breaking through the debris covered ground often gets ignored and walked past... or walked on... by some with their eyes fixed on the next thing to do and place to be. For me, my gaze is most often downward - partly because I'm not real sure footed so I'm always watching where I walk. But it's in that eyes down position that I see the tiniest of flowers amidst the debris and I marvel at how something so small could push through all the dirt and debris, only to look up in praise to God for a brief season and then vanish away. It's that moment that whispers to my heart with a holy hush.

My friend, Charlie Bing, once said:

"Don't get caught up in this world.
Learn to live in the glory of the ordinary.
anchor life to the eternal."

It's all about Him...every second of every day. You can anchor your life to that eternal truth and it will hold you to the Hope that the best is yet to come. Like Charlie said, don't get so caught up in this world that you fail to live in the glory of the ordinary. Look to see Him in the moments of life.

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

(Just a side note, Charlie is an awesome speaker, teacher, author who has a way with words that resonate grace and truth - here's his website -http://www.gracelife.org)

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Be the Blessing

5/7/2015

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Let your words heal not wound.

Remember the old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me,"? Nothing could be farther from the truth. Words can wound us deeply. But they can also heal. "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." ~ Proverbs 16:24

Today, may His grace flow from you upon others. May your words bless and bring encouragement. "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear." ~ Ephesians 4:28

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Why Simply Grace

The Muser

Becoming the woman of grace God's designed me to be. it's all simply grace.

This page is about speaking grace into lives and healing those broken places. It's about exploring the basics of Who our Savior is, the depth of His love for us, and His life changing gift.

You will find Sabbath Blessings here and words to help heal the broken places. This is a place of rest and restoration. Hopefully, you will come away refreshed. You can read more about Why Simply Grace here.

Have each new post to Simply Grace emailed to you or use your own RSS Feed Reader.

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Please Respect the Muser's Work

© Copyright 2007-2018 Marsha Harwood/Marsha's Musings. All Rights Reserved. All posts, images, and downloads are copyright protected.

HOWEVER, you are more than welcome to share any picture, free downloads, and anything I have written here, I just ask you kindly leave the marshasmusings.com watermark on the pictures, and please give credit for any writings. A link back to this website would be a kindness I'd truly appreciate.

Marsha's Musings by Marsha Harwood is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.marshasmusings.com.

When Life Gives You Lemons. . .

A Blessing of Protection

Breath of Heaven

Enter the Sabbath. . .a designated time to make room for God. . . to breathe in the exhaled Breath of Heaven.

Are you or someone you know experiencing a December Kind of Grief and finding it hard to breathe?

A Blessing for Joy

Sanctuary Sunday ~ Abba Daddy!

He Will Never Leave Us

Distressed? Depressed? Be at Rest.

Oh weary soul,
don't let the current events of this world bring you distress.

Oh child of God,
don't be troubled, you are not alone....
He left The Comforter with us to set our hearts at peace.

Oh restless one,
He is our fortress in the storms of life, our rock, our salvation.
Be at rest.

May you go forth today being reminded of His promises to you.
He will never leave you, nor forsake you.
Rest in Him and His promises.

Trending Now! Oops...You Missed It!

Be the Blessing

Let your words heal not wound.

Why Simply Grace

The Muser

Archives

Categories

Have each new post to Simply Grace emailed to you or use your own RSS Feed Reader.

Please Respect the Muser's Work

Enter the Sabbath. . .a designated time to make room for God. . . to breathe in the exhaled Breath of Heaven.

Are you or someone you know experiencing a December Kind of Grief and finding it hard to breathe?

Oh weary soul, don't let the current events of this world bring you distress.

Oh child of God, don't be troubled, you are not alone.... He left The Comforter with us to set our hearts at peace.

Oh restless one, He is our fortress in the storms of life, our rock, our salvation. Be at rest.

May you go forth today being reminded of His promises to you. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. Rest in Him and His promises.

Let your words heal not wound.

Why Simply Grace

The Muser

Archives

Categories

Have each new post to Simply Grace emailed to you or use your own RSS Feed Reader.

Please Respect the Muser's Work

Oh weary soul,
don't let the current events of this world bring you distress.

Oh child of God,
don't be troubled, you are not alone....
He left The Comforter with us to set our hearts at peace.

Oh restless one,
He is our fortress in the storms of life, our rock, our salvation.
Be at rest.

May you go forth today being reminded of His promises to you.
He will never leave you, nor forsake you.
Rest in Him and His promises.