Need More Strength? Wait on God!

This is an excerpt from the daily devotional book I read "The Word for You Today: 365 days of strength and guidance.  Vol 6 By Bob Gass"

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“They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength”

Isaiah 40:31

God usually doesn’t tell us how He will answer our prayers, or even when. But He does promise those who wait on Him one thing –strength. The word “wait” in this Scripture pictures a Hebrew word used in the making of rope.  Every rope starts out as a thread, and every strand added increases in strength.  So each time you wait on the Lord you add another thread to the rope, you get a little stronger, a little more able to cope.  Do you feel like you’re just hanging on by a thread today?  Spend more time in God’s presence and God’s Word, and watch your thread turn into a rope.  But waiting is not always passive; sometimes it’s active, like waiting on a customer, seeing that his or her needs are met.  In this case, waiting is not so much a position as a focus.

The Bible says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isaiah 26:3). Whether it’s sitting prayerfully in His presence or actively carrying out His will, you have God’s assurance that your strength will be renewed.

If you’re at the end of your rope today, grab hold of these three promises: (1) “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14 NKJV). (2) “Wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him (Psalm 62:5 NKJV). (3) “As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters…so our eyes look to the Lord our God” (Psalm 123:2 NKJV). Do you need more strength? Wait on God!

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If we wait on the Lord and rest in His promises the end of our rope can become a lesson in faith and turn into a gentle, loving lesson of freedom in Christ.

Duct Tape saved the day and my budget!

A few weeks ago I found these adorable tiny little plates with a sequence of a snowman being made/decorated.  I picked them up & put them back.  Last Monday I found them again marked down to $.50 each...woo hoo!  So for $1.50 I picked up the little cuties...but now how to display them.

I found some backs to Dollar Store frames I'm not using and Duct Tape!

Thankfully this will easily be taken apart when Winter is over and I need the backs of the frames returned to their homes.

The finished product - all this for $1.50!!!

Ahhhhhh, I feel so calm!

This year I was ready to take Christmas stuff down by new years eve.  I waited it out and pushed myself until January 7th.  Saturday night I took it all down within an hour, hubby got out all the tubs and we finished putting everything away after church on Sunday.  I've already plotted out my new design plan, but it came out better than expected.  I love the serene feeling when I've created a new look and with minimal money - I love Goodwill & Savers and awesome friends who pass on their discards to me!!


Friday night my house looked like this still:

By Sunday night it looked like this:

I have a collection of stars that I use all over, but decided to make a "star wall."  I had everything already, except for a new star candle holder I got at Goodwill last week for $1, that was copper and I painted silver.

Dining room "China Cabinet"

 Kitchen counter.  The snowman is a coffee creamer bottle that I painted.

 I found 1 sconce at Goodwill and 1 at Savers.  When I got them home they were identical.  I wasn't even trying to match them other than the color.  Both candles are from Goodwill.

 I usually don't decorate for Valentines, but I had a few things that would work and pulled them together.  The XOXO glitter sign is from Kohl's clearance for less than $2.50. The birds I got after Christmas on clearance and they work for for Valentines, Winter and Christmas.

Above is Christmas lights we put up in the alcove above the built-ins.  It's so nice with the colored glass vases and adds some nice, soft light to our living room.


I can't believe how fast this all came together yesterday, when I started putting things up.  I'm always impressed with my creativity and how peaceful I feel sitting in my newly decorated house...using things I already had for picking things up for a couple of dollars at a thrift store. :) 

This Year – Persevere

I’m so excited for 2012.  Coming out of a very hard year, I’m ready to move ahead and firmly keep my feet planted on God’s Word and promises.  I’m ready to fight, grow, love, laugh, learn and explore.  I’m feeling healthier, stronger and freer…blessed with a great group of Godly counsel, friends and new hope.  I opened up a devotional I’ve had for a couple of years on new years day to find exactly what I needed to help me on the journey of 2012.  The first five days of the devotional go over the same verse “We will reap a harvest if we do not give up” Galatians 6:19 NIV.  Woah, I want to see the harvest, but I’m good at giving up.

Below are three excerpts from “The Word for You Today: 365 Days of Strength and Guidance, Vol 5” by Bob Gass and Galatians 6:9 translations.

Perseverance means: Recognizing life is not one big race, but many short ones in succession. Each task has its own challenges and each day its own events.  You have to get out of bed the next morning and run again, but it’s never exactly the same race.  To be successful you must keep plugging away.  It’s said that Columbus faced incredible difficulties while sailing west in search of a passage to Asia. He encountered storms, experienced hunger, deprivation and extreme discouragement.  The crews of his three ships were near mutiny.  But his account of the journey says the same thing over and over: “Today, we sailed on.”  And his perseverance paid off.  He didn’t discover a fast route to the spice-rich Indies; instead he found a new continent.  The spiritual key to success is – running the race each day (See Hebrew 12:1-2).  So this year – persevere.

“So let's not get tired of doing what is good.

At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.”

Galatians 6:9 NLT

Perseverance turns adversity into advancement. Paul writes, “Everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News” (Php 1:12 NLT).  Paul didn’t give up – he rose up! How did he do it? He found the benefit to him personally that comes from spiritual trial.  One Christian author writes: “Today we’re obsessed with speed, but is more interested in strength and stability.  We want the quick fix, the shortcut, the on-the-spot solution.  We want a sermon, a seminar or an experience that will instantly resolve all problems, remove all temptation and release us from all growing pains.  But real maturity is never the result of a single experience, no matter how powerful or moving.” Growth is gradual.  The Bible says, “Our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters…and we become like him” (2 Co 3:18 TM).”

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 ESV

Perseverance doesn’t demand more than we have, but all that we have.  Author Frank Tyger observed, “In every triumph, there is a lot of try.”  But perseverance means more than just trying or working hard.  Perseverance is an investment.  It’s a willingness to bind yourself emotionally, intellectually, physically and spiritually to an idea, purpose or task until it has been completed.  Perseverance demands a lot, but here’s the good news: everything you give is an investment in yourself.  Each time you do the right thing – seek God, work hard, treat others with respect, learn and grow – you invest in yourself.  To do these things every day takes perseverance, but if you do the your success if guaranteed.

“So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good.

At the right time we will harvest a good crop

if we don't give up, or quit.”

Galatians 6:9 The Message