Thursday, August 7, 2008

Thankful Thursday : The Love of God











Ephesians 3

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping! Thanks for your prayers and encouragements.

♥ Today I want to thank God for reminding me once again of His unfailing and enduring love in these recent months as I go through many challenges in my health, work, family, etc etc. I thank God that His grace is sufficient for me.

♥ I thank God for allowing me to experience His love by giving His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to redeem me from sins. I thank God that He is my help and strength daily, and in Him is my hope and joy.

♥ I thank God for showing me His love in forgiving me of my sins daily. I am conscious of my many weaknesses and sins daily, and I thank God that with Him there is forgiveness of sins. As I go to Him for fresh strength and grace for each day, He has never failed to provide for my needs so that I can live for Him.

♥ I am thankful to God that I have the assurance of His love especially in tough times that He allows them for a purpose (Romans 8:28). I thank God for sanctifying me and enabling me to grow in Him at such times.

♥ I am thankful to God for the comfort of His Words and the joy of seeking Him in prayers and devotion daily.

♥ I thank God for showing me His love through my family, friends, church and blogging friends. I have been so greatly blessed by all of you and I thank God upon every remembrance of you. It is wonderful to read of how God is guiding and blessing you in your walk with our Lord and it encourages me in my walk with God too.

♥ I am thankful for this portion of a lovely hymn/poem which I like very much, “The Love of God”. It reminds me of the love of God which is immeasurable.

I love the way the love of God is being described as greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It is so true!

And even if we could fill all the ocean with ink and all the skies with parchment, and every one of us is scribe, to write the love of God above would still drain the ocean dry nor could the scroll contained the whole though stretched from sky to sky!

How true! The immeasurable depths and heights of God’s love! It has to be experienced to know what it means and even then we cannot fathom the whole of it!

The Love of God

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;...
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Chorus: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.


May you know God's love in very special ways today and everyday!

How about you? How has the Lord blessed you through the past week?

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a blessed and thankful day!

For more participants of Thankful Thursday, do visit Iris at Sting My Heart. It will be a very blessed and spiritually uplifting experience for you!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Word-Filled Wednesday : Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning











Psalm 143:8, 10

8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee... 10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
This is my prayers every morning that God may enable me to know His lovingkindness, lead me in His ways and teach me to do His will.

May you know God's love and guidance in many wonderful ways today and everyday!

For more Word-Filled Wednesday participants, do visit Amy at The 160 Acre Woods. It will be a very blessed and encouraging experience for you.

Thank you for stopping by. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements. Hope you have a blessed day!

(This photo is taken by my friend and sister-in-Christ, Sau, at Saipan. Thank God for her kindness to share this photo with us.)

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Gracious blog awards from kind friends

Dear Friends,

Thank you for stopping by. I like to share some blessings with you today.

I am thankful to God and to kind friends for sharing with me the following blog awards.

I am honored and humbled to receive them and I give all praise and glory to God.

It is my privilege to share these awards with my blogging friends but is a hard decision for me to choose specifically a few because so many of you excel in these categories too and I feel you deserve these awards as well!

But in complying to the rules of these awards, I am pleased to pass these awards to the following friends whom God has used to be great blessings to me :

1) Gratitude with Attitude Award

Jim (Jim's Deep Thoughts) shared with me this "Gratitude with Attitude Award" on 3rd May 2008. (Thanks, Jim, for this lovely award. All praise and glory be to God.)

I am thankful for Jim's friendship.

I enjoyed reading Jim's posts. He is a man after God's own heart. He likes to share of the lessons he learned from God's Words or sermons he heard or books he read. These are very encouraging as they always reflect His love for God and his desire to walk pleasing to God. Do visit Jim, if you can. You will be encouraged by him too.

I would like to share this award with the following blogging friends whom God has blessed me with. They all love the Lord and have GREAT attitudes in their life. I am learning to enjoy their blogs. I am encouraged by their love for the Lord and sincere desire to walk pleasing to Him. Do visit them and you will be blessed too!

1. Iris (Sting My Heart) - Iris hosts Thankful Thursday (TT) and shares God's blessings and her thankful heart with us. She invites us to join her and count our blessings and share our thankful heart too. It has been a great blessing for me to join TT to count God's blessings and to read of God's goodness to so many others. Do join us at TT, if you can!

2. Melanie (The Fruits of the Spirit). Melanie is a woman after God's own heart. She loves to share what she is learning from the Bible with us. Her posts have many insights and encouragements from the Bible.

3. Sharonb (Quiet Reflections). Sharonb loves the Lord and she writes and share the devotional thoughts or experiences that God is teaching her daily. Her posts reflect her desire to submit to God's teachings and walk in His ways.

4. Tracy (My Cup Runneth Over). Tracy writes and shares the devotional thoughts or experiences that God is teaching her daily. Her desire is to encourage others and share the hope, joy and love of Jesus, through the overflow of her grateful heart.

5) Edie (Rich Gifts). Eddie loves the Lord and her greatest desire is to have Great faith in God. I am encouraged by her love for the Lord and desire to walk in His ways. In her own words, "My greatest desire is to have Great faith in God. The kind that will step out into the unknown and truely Trust Him with all that is within me. I'm not there yet but working on it. "For without Faith it is impossible to please God..." (Hebrews 11:6)"

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2) Kind Blogger Award

Melanie presented me with this kind award on 21 July 2008. (Thanks, Melanie, for this kind award. All praise and glory be to God.)

I am thankful to God for Melanie's friendship and her kind words of encouragements.

Melanie is a woman after God's own heart. She loves to share what she is learning from the Bible with us. Her posts have many insights and encouragements from the Bible. Her love for the Lord and sincere desire to walk pleasing to Him is so evident in her posts! Do visit Melanie and you will be encouraged by her too.

I would like to share this award with the following blogging friends who God has blessed me with. These friends have shown much kindness to me and others through their writing, in prayers and encouragements and in their many wonderful ways. Do visit them and you will be greatly blessed!

1. Darlene (Blog: Stover Lane). I am thankful to God for Darlene's friendship. She prays for me constantly and leave little notes for me to let me know that she cares. God used her and many others during my most difficult moments to let me know that He cares for me. Darlene shares very generously on her blogs when she finds useful information on others blogs or encouraging videos.

2. Jim (Jim's Deep Thoughts). Jim awarded me with Gratitude with Attitude Award above. He has a great attitude himself and he loves the Lord. He writes on various topics and has a compassion for others who are suffering because of what Christ has done for him in his own sufferings.

3. Jennifer (Blog: Child of the King). Jennifer is a sweet and dear friend whom God sends to me. She loves the Lord and she encourages me with her prayers and sweet little notes. Her desire to walk with God and honours Him in her decisions, are great encouragements to me. I thank God for her.

4. Denise (Shortybears Place). Denise has a very kind and loving heart. She is always encouraging others though she herself is afflicted in her health. She loves the Lord and find her strength and joy in Him daily. Her blog is also very sweet, just like her :-)

5. Peggy (Mazes, Messes, Miracles...aMazing Grace). Peggy is very gifted in her writing and I enjoy her writings. She loves the Lord and shares freely her writing gift with her readers and she is generous in encouraging fellow bloggers.

6. Serendipity (Serendipity Park). Serendipity has a very kind and loving heart and she loves to encourage others. I thank God for her encouragements to me and many others.

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3) The “Arte y Pico” Award

The “Arte y Pico” award was created to be given to bloggers who inspire others with their creativity (whether it be writing or artwork in all media), design, interesting material, or also contributions to the blogger community, no matter what language.

Sharonb very kindly shared this award with me and other bloggers on 26 July 2008. I am thankful for her kindness and large-heartedness. Sharonb loves the Lord and I enjoy her posts on the devotional thoughts or experiences that God is teaching her daily.

Edie kindly shared this award with me on 31 July 2008. I am thankful for her kindness and encouragements. I am encouraged by her love for the Lord and desire to walk in His ways.

I would like to share this award with the following blogging friends who God has blessed me with. These friends have encouraged me in their writings, creativities, kindness and contributions to the blogging communities in their various gifted ways. Do visit them and you will be greatly blessed!

1. Michelle (Ozarks sew n' sews). Michelle is very gifted in cross-stitch and other sewings. Her blog is beautiful. She is also a very excellent photographer and I especially love to see the photos of her cross-stitch and that of her husband (yes, Jack loves cross-stitch too!) and cute Katie (you will smile too when you see her).

2. AmyDeane (The 160 Acre Woods). AmyDeane hosts Word-Filled Wednesday (WFW) where she shared her photography skills with us by adding encouraging Bible verses to it. If you love to share photos or pictures with Bible verses, do join us at WFW. I have been greatly blessed by the many beautiful photos and encouraging Bible verses posted by the various participants of WFW.

3. Marja (Roller Coaster). Marja loves the Lord and is always hopeful in Him in the face of many challenges in her life. Marja is interested in writing about mental health issues, especially encouraging a more understanding view by the church. In an effort to help her church give support to people with mood disorders, Marja has started a support group called "Living Room". Now she is encouraging groups to start up elsewhere. Marja has been a great blessing, encouragement and help to those who attend Living Room and those of us who read about her experiences there, her books she has written as well as how the Lord helps her to live for Him and serve Him in her various gifted ways.

4. Susan (Wellness Writer). Susan is a writer and she shares generously on her wellness strategies and her own experiences on handling depression, bipolar, handling irrational anger, overcoming fear, and other challenges in life. She has helped many by her sharing and I have benefited too.

5. Serendipity (Serendipity Park). Serendipity is a gifted and creative writer. She also takes lovely pictures. Her posts always make me smile :-)

Here are the rules:

1. Share this award with 5 blogs that you consider to deserve this award whether for creativity, design, interesting material or contributions to the blogger community, no matter what language.

2. Show the award and include the name (and link to his/her blog) of whoever present you with this award.

3. Name each nominee and link to his/her blog.

4. Link to "Arte y Pico" blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. Post these rules.


To each of the recipients above, I thank God for you and the way you and your blogs have been such great blessings to me! You well deserve these awards and so much more!

I am also thankful to God for Colored Heart, Peggy and Serendipity for sharing the following awards with me:


Flower Award

Colored Heart (Clay in the Potter's Hand) loves the Lord and it is encouraging to read of her close walk with God, always seeking to please Him.

Colored Heart writes very well and I enjoy her writing. She is also a very encouraging person and loves to encourage others.


Awards to share with all

I am thankful to God for the joy and privileges of knowing each one of you, my dear blogging friends and visitors. Many of you do serve the above awards though I am not able to name each one of you. Your contributions to the blogging community have made blogging such a wonderful experience for me!

Your friendships, prayers and encouragements do mean a lot to me. They are tokens of God's love for me and I thank God upon every remembrance of you.

I pray that God will continue to keep you near to Him and make you a blessing to all that come into contact with you, to His glory. May you continue to grow in your love for the Lord and His people.

Here are 2 awards to share with all of you, my dear blogging friends and visitors. If you are reading this post, these award belongs to your too! Thanks for sharing your love and friendship with me and may we continue to pass this love on to others.


Sharing The Love Award

Peggy (Mazes, Messes, Miracles...aMazing Grace) is very gifted in her writing and I enjoy her writings. She loves the Lord and shares freely her writing gift with her readers and she is generous in encouraging fellow bloggers.

Peggy has kindly shared this award with all her friends. I would like to share this award with all of you, my dear blogging friends and visitors. If you are reading this post, this award belongs to your too! Thanks for sharing your love with me and may we continue to pass this love on to others.

This lovely award is created by Crystal @ Memoirs of a Mommy in honor of Noah and the donor of his sweet little heart who ENCOURAGES us to SHARE THE LOVE ! Thanks Crystal! [Click on Memoirs of a Mommy to learn and read this special love story!] The rules for this award are to pass it along to some people whose blogs you love. They make you laugh, smile, leave encouraging comments on your blog. You would like to share some love with because they have uplifted, inspired, encouraged or prayed for you.

Friendship Award

Serendipity (Serendipity Park). Serendipity has a very kind and loving heart and she loves to encourage others. I thank God for her encouragements to me and many others. She is also a gifted and creative writer. She also takes lovely pictures. Her posts always make me smile :-)

Serendipity has kindly shared this award with me. I would like to share this award with all of you, my dear blogging friends and visitors. If you are reading this post, this award belongs to your too! Thanks for sharing your friendship with me and may we continue to pass this friendship on to others.

Thanks again for your friendship. Thanks for stopping by. May God grant you a blessed weekends!

Take care.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Thankful Thursday : It Matters to Me about You











Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping! Thanks for your prayers and encouragements. I thank God upon every remembrance of you!

Today I thank God for His love and care through all the changing scenes in life.

♥ Thank God that no matter what we go through in this life, He is with us (Matthew 28:20).

♥ Thank God that even the difficulties, trials or afflictions that pained us, are actually working together for our good in God's mercies and providence. (Romans 8:28)

♥ Thank God that He is doing a deeper work in our souls to make us what He wants us to be. God is conforming us more and more to the image of Christ. The process is difficult and painful at times but necessary. This is the only way we can bear fruit for Christ (John 15).

♥ Thank God for helping me to live for Him daily admist the various challenges. Thank God for helping me to learn to see things from different angles and to value what God is doing through them. It helps gives me courage to face every tomorrow with God's strength and trusting in His grace that is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9).

♥ Thank God for His promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

♥ I thank God that nothing shall ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39). Thank God for the assurance that no persecution, sickness, natural disaster, poverty, etc etc and even the lost of life itself, will ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

♥ Thank God for this encouraging poem that reminded me of God's love and care. Hope it will encourage you too. No matter what you are going through, He loves and cares for you.

IT MATTERS TO ME ABOUT YOU

My child, I know thy sorrows,
Thine every grief I share;
I know how thou art tested,
And, what is more - I care.

Think not I am indifferent
To what affecteth thee;
Thy weal and woe are matters
Of deep concern to Me.

But, child, I have a purpose
In all that I allow;
I ask thee then to trust Me,
Though all seems dark just now.

How often thou hast asked Me
To purge away thy dross!
But this refining process
Involves for thee - a cross.

There is no other pathway
If thou would'st really be
Conformed unto the image
Of Him Who died for thee.

Thou can'st not be like Jesus
Till self is crucified;
And as a daily process
The cross must be applied.

Just as the skillful gard'ner
Applies the pruning knife,
E'en so, I too would sever
The worthless from thy life.

I have but one sole object -
That thou should'st fruitful be!
And is it not thy longing
That I much fruit should see?

Then shrink not from the training
I needs must give to thee;
I know just how to make thee
What I would have thee be.

Remember that I love thee!
Think not I am unkind,
When trials come to prove thee,
And joy seems left behind.

'Tis but a little longer
Until I come again;
What now seems so mysterious
Will all be then made plain.

Take courage then; and fear not!
Press forward to the prize,
A crown of life awaits thee,
Glory before thee lies!

- Alice C. Lefroy

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings,
and not one of them is forgotten before God?
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows.
(Luke 12:6,7)

♥ Thank God for a blessed relationship with Him through our Lord Jesus Christ.

♥ Thank God for what Christ has done on the cross for me so that I can blog for His glory.

♥ Thank God for family, church, friends and fellow bloggers. Thank God for all of you.

How about you? How has the Lord blessed you through the past week?

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a blessed and thankful day!

For more participants of Thankful Thursday, do visit Iris at Sting My Heart. It will be a very blessed and spiritually uplifting experience for you!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Word-Filled Wednesday : We are of more value than many sparrows























Matthew 10
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

This passage of Scriptures brings a lot of comfort to me whenever I read it.

Thank God that He loves us dearly and watch over us daily. He know all about us and what we are going through. Even the hairs on our head are numbered!

God takes feed the sparrow and clothe the lilies. He is with us always and bid us fear not as we are of more value than many sparrows.

May this wonderful knowledge strengthen our hearts each day, as we strive to live for our Lord and serve Him, through all the changing scenes in life.

For more Word-Filled Wednesday participants, do visit Amy at The 160 Acre Woods. It will be a very blessed and encouraging experience for you.

Thank you for stopping by. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements. Hope you have a blessed day!

(This photo is taken by my friend and brother-in-Christ, CW Fong. Thank God for his kindness to share this photo with us)