Women Warriors!

 WOMEN WARRIORS?

I came across an old wedding dress.

I don't know who it belonged to,

and don't even remember how it 

became a part of my possessions.

I wonder what stories it could tell.

What happened to the woman who wore this dress?

Did she have a happy marriage?

Did she have children?

Did she work outside the home?

What were her interests?

My thoughts turned to women in the Bible.

Several of them are my heroes,

but I recently took a closer look at Deborah.

Do you know her story?

You can read it by clicking on this LINK.

Deborah lived in the time of the Judges of Israel.

This was a time when often they were without a leader,

and "everyone did what was right in their own eyes".

My admiration grew for Deborah 

as I made a summary of some of her accomplishments.

Here's a few:

 She was a wife.

 She was a prophetess.

She was a judge.

She was an advice giver -

(Her office was a palm tree!)

She was not afraid of conflict.

She was not afraid to give God's messages.

She was undaunted by what other people thought.

She believed God.

She encouraged others to trust God.

She obeyed God even when others were skeptical.

She was a song writer, music maker and worship leader.

She was considered a "Mother for Israel".

She enlisted God's help with her projects.

She marched on with courage and obedience.

She was not afraid to call out by name those who wouldn't help!

She brought 40 years of peace to Israel with her leadership.

She was a WOMAN WARRIOR!

What an example!

I think we could call her a Proverbs 31 woman!

Here's a few of my favorite

WOMEN WARRIOR FRIENDS,

Sisters in Christ who listen, laugh, encourage,

 and will fight with you in prayer!

But there's absolutely nothing better than SISTER WARRIOR friends,

...Siblings that know the best and the worst of you,

and still love you,

stand with you through the storms of life,

praying, encouraging, loving 💓 ,

and not afraid to do battle with the enemy of our souls!

Oh yes!

Thank God for fun-loving, God-loving sisters

Prayer Warrior Women!

But what about daughters?

Oh my, YES!

Daughters who grow up to be your "Besties"!

 

Daughters are Women Warriors,

Women of Faith,

Women of Prayer!

I AM SO BLESSED!

A Closer Look...

This Morning's Walk...

Often when we look at things...

we hardly take notice of the beauty ...

 and the small things...

that are right before our eyes!

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that

God has made everything beautiful

for its own time.

Often we look,

but we don't really see!

Matthew 13:13

My prayer today is that 

God would open my eyes 

to see what He wants to show me,

whether in His world or in His WORD!

Psalm 119:18

Prophet or Profit?

 Food, Feasts, and Fun!

Several years ago I did a post entitled

DONKEYS FOR A KING,

which had to do with Jesus' ride on a donkey.

Palm Sunday is less than two weeks away,

and we often read this story at this time.

But today I want to talk about a different donkey story.

This one is about Balaam, the prophet, who had an encounter with a donkey.

You may recall the story from

 the book of Numbers chapters 22 -25,

where Balaam stubbornly insists on going his own way

but is stopped by a talking donkey.

In studying further about Balaam in the Bible,

I was curious how God's words of blessing could come out of  his mouth at one time,

and then how he could be spoken of so badly in other references.

2 Peter 2:15-16 NLT - says Balaam loved to earn money by wrong doing.

Jude 1: 11 - 13 says he deceived people for money.

Revelation 2:14 says he taught Balak  how to trick Israel to sin!

He did this by making sin, sex and idol worship look attractive!

He lured the Israelites with Food, Feasts, and Fun!

And apparently Balak paid him good money for doing this!

The consequences were grave - 24,000 people lost their lives because of this.

WOW!

What can I learn from this?

Money can affect judgment!

I must guard my own heart that I not be deceived -

not only by money, but by others words or ideas!

2 Corinthians 11:14 says that Satan can disguise himself

as an angel of light.

Paul the Apostle warns us about this in Galatians 1:8,

and says these heavy words:

"Let God's curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you."

I guess we need to heed Solomon's words:

"Guard your heart above all else,

for it determines the course of your life"

Proverbs 4:23

Thanks for taking time to drop by.

To check any of the references above,

 just click on the words that are highlighted.

"What's in Your Cup?"

 

My husband and I were recently on a program

from our church called

"What's in Your Cup?"

I hope you enjoy it!

Encouragement from the Birds!

If you have followed some of my blog posts for a few years,

you have probably noticed there are a lot of bird posts.

Lately I've been transitioning from photographing these

little feathered friends, to painting them.

As with my ROCK 4 Today posts

that feature the names of God on Rocks,

I've started painting birds on rocks.

Wrens are such unique little creatures! 

Click on these highlighted letters

 to see some of my wren photos and learn more about them!

This is a "Yellow bellied Sapsucker".

He's a pretty hard one to catch with the camera,

and even harder to portray with a paintbrush!

Watching the birds fascinates me.

Spending time painting them relaxes me...

...Much more than watching the news these days!

May the God of Hope

fill you with all joy and peace

as you trust in Him

during these perilous times!

Romans 15:13

I am reminding myself today that

Jesus said that if God takes care of the birds,

He will surely take care of us!

Matthew 6:26

Prophetic Dream?

 If you are a "YouTuber",

or watch much Christian television,

you probably have been hearing a lot more lately

about "Prophetic Dreams"...

If you are like me,

you may wonder which dreams are from God,

or which may just be what my husband calls

"Pizza Dreams"

caused by something you ate! 😀

Recently I had a dream about this chapel

 that my dad pastored when I was a teenager.

Whether or not it was "PROPHETIC",

I am not sure...

But it did have a lesson for me!

In my dream the pews in the church 

were packed with people.

After the congregation all vacated the building,

 I was left alone with a man

who was chasing me trying to attack me.

Fearfully I ran up and down between pews,

zigzagging, and trying to get to the door to escape.

"If I only had a weapon"

I remember thinking in my dream.

.And then I noticed the hymnbooks 

in the racks on the back of the church benches.

and a plan quickly began to form in my mind.

The "Fight or Flight Syndrome" kicked in!!!

With my heart beating rapidly

and my adrenaline surging, 

I began grabbing hymnals 

and throwing them at my attacker.

He cowered and held his arms

to protect his face as he began to retreat!

He ran out the door and into the parking lot

and I continued to hurl hymnbooks at him.

The roof had lifted off the top of the church building,

and my hymnbook weapons continued to sail 

over the top of the solid rock wall of the church,

hitting their target and chasing him away.

Suddenly reinforcements appeared

as my smiling pastor arrived,

But the fight had already been won,

It was the flying hymnbooks

that sent the enemy scurrying!

****************

Later that morning as I was enjoying

my morning "Coffee with Jesus",

I couldn't get the dream out of my mind,

so I called my younger sis who had also spent many hours

in that chapel in our growing up years.

"Awhhhh", she said.

"Don't you know what that means?"

"It's the sacrifice of praise!"

I had done a post on this almost 10 years ago...

(This was one of my most popular posts,..

You can click on the link above to take you there.)

I needed that reminder as we face the chaos

of the elections and the pandemic.

Prophetic dream or not,

God used that dream 

and the words of my younger sis

 to remind me that it is 

the SACRIFICE OF PRAISE 

that defeat the enemy every time.

"1Make a joyful shout to the Lord, [a]all you lands!

2Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

3Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and [b]not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise. 

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 

5For the Lord is good; 

His mercy is everlasting, 

And His truth endures to all generations."

Psalm 100 NKJV

Maybe we can't sing together in church at this time, 

but that's no reason not to sing!

May you have JOY in your heart today

as you lift your voice in praise and

SING!  SING!  SING!

Mischievous Max's Mayhem

Well,

It looks like my walking buddy

is going to have to take a break for awhile...

I probably won't be playing chase with him

for awhile when he grabs things and runs

with them, knowing we will run after him.

He probably won't feel like jumping up 

on the outdoor furniture...

...Or running to see who has come to visit!

He may have trouble walking on the rocks 

at one of our favorite spots

down at the Buffalo National River.

Nope!

Our buddy Max has broken a foot

and is probably still in surgery right now.

Thirty-some years ago I broke my right ankle.

It was a really bad break...

I dislocated and broke three bones badly enough

that my foot was twisted 180 degrees backward.

Thanks to a really good orthopaedic surgeon,

(and the healing touch of God)

I was able to walk again!

It did take time, crutches, therapy, etc.

I'm not sure what Max did that caused this.

He loves chasing balls and retrieving them,

but we weren't doing that when it happened.

Probably his own mayhem caused it  :(

Just as we jumped in to rescue Max from damage

he had probably done to himself,

it reminded me of how often God rescues us

from messes we get ourselves into.

I love Psalm 18.

This Psalm is written by King David,

who as you probably know,

got himself in a lot of messes.

Here are a few of my favorite verses from that chapter:

"In my distress I called to the Lord;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came before him, into his ears.

The earth trembled and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains shook;

they trembled because he was angry.

Smoke rose from his nostrils;

consuming fire came from his mouth,

burning coals blazed out of it.

He parted the heavens and came down...

...He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

he drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me..."

Maybe Max will be able to jump in the four-wheeler

before long and enjoy a ride!

Max, Laughter, and the Corona Virus

Max makes us laugh!
Heaven knows we need laughter
with this CoronaVirus thing!

Proverbs 17:22 says,
"A merry heart does good like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones."

"What are you doing in there?"
Max seems to say as he looks in the kitchen window
by putting his front feet on the picnic table!

"Uh-oh"
"I think I ruined the soccer ball."

"I sure like going for rides!"

"These lawn chairs aren't very comfortable without the cushions!"

"This just looks like a cigar...
It's really rawhide,
and it doesn't have much taste!"

Well, I hope this made you smile.

Stay well!

Wash your hands!

And join me in trying to look for something good every day.

"I would have lost heart,

unless I had believed

that I would see the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!"

Psalm 27:13-14

Who Me? Max and Puppy Training

Teething Challenges!

Boredom, Orneriness or teething pain?

WHO ME?

Yes...
This is the mess that I found this morning
when I thought I was too busy to give Max
his normal morning exercise and attention!

I'm still very much in the learning stage of how to train a puppy.
I think I kind of overlooked the
"Consistency - Thou Art a Jewel"
principle this morning...
...And now I'm paying for it!

It is very evident that Max is teething.
He even will chew on the chunky gravel rocks
if not supervised when outdoors in the fenced backyard.
Sometimes I find I am so impatient and think to myself,
"I really don't have the time or energy for this!"

My daughter who has spent much time training her  Golden doodle
to be a "therapy dog" gives me encouragement and advice.
She also drops by with healthy doggie treats and toys.
Some of those healthy treats are so STINKY,
but they help get the dog's attention,
especially if I wait till he is a bit hungry!
She tells me that training works best when the puppy is hungry.

The Scripture says in Proverbs 22:6 to
"Train up a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not depart from it."
I guess this also applies to puppies!

"Consistency - Thou Art a Jewel!"

I think that

The two most important things 

I learned in Bible College were:

1. "Keep balanced!"

and

2. "Consistency - Thou Art a Jewel!"

And I also think I can safely say that

 both apply to puppy training!

We have begun to have a routine with Max...
And CONSISTENCY definitely pays dividends!
(TV watching is not one of those regular routines,
but he appears to like watching old Westerns
with my husband!)

Max has learned to sit on command...

And sometimes he lays down on command!

Max is learning to do better on a leash,

and that is thanks to those who recommended a slip chain.

My daughter is helping TRAIN ME how to do this!

He's not "heeling" very good outside,

but does great when we practice inside the house,

up and down our narrow hallway!

The Labrador Retriever part of him is showing up

in his joy of retrieving tennis balls.

It's great exercise for him (and me!)

He is learning to let go of them

but he is not always CONSISTENT yet!

Treats seem to help!

"Potty training" via crate training

is going well,

with only a few accidents.

I'm not sure

 who is trained on this,

HIM or ME!

Potty training seems to be one of those things where

"Consistency - Thou Art a Jewel"

definitely pays off!

Proverbs 3:6 says

"Train up a child in the way that he should go;

and when he is old,

he will not depart from it."

I think that definitely can apply to puppies...

Max seems to be doing very well for four months of age.

(The above quote re. CONSISTENCY  is from the late Mr. L. E. Maxwell of Prairie Bible Institute!
Come to think of it, I think "Maxwell" is a good name for our puppy,
calling him  "Max" for the shorter version of his name!)

Meet Max!

About two months ago I had my yearly check up with my family doctor...

He informed me that my latest bone density test showed

that I had osteopenia,

and the part of my body showing the lowest bone density

was my forearms.

He prescribed more exercise, 

and recommended weights and walking.

My daughter Crystal is an Occupational Therapist.

"You need a dog," she said.

"It will give you and Daddy companionship

as well as exercise."

My husband had taken a strong liking to 

Crystal's large sized Labradoodle named Buddy,

but we decided we needed a smaller size.

MEET MAX!

Our grandson seemed quite delighted
with the new addition to the family!

Max is supposed to be a mid-sized Labradoodle,
but if he grows as big as his paws indicate,
he may be a little larger than we anticipated!

So, here we go...
I'm not sure if he'll be teaching me,
or I'll be training him...
but we'll see what new adventures lie ahead!

Already I am learning that I am not very patient.

"For ye have need of patience,

that, after ye have done the will of God,

ye might receive the promise."

Hebrews10:36

(By the way, we've only had Max for 11 days,

and I can already tell a difference

in the strength of my forearms

due to his stubbornness on the leash!)

"Joy4Today" has been on sabbatical!

Yes...

I've been taking a break 

from blogging,

and guess it's time 

I got back into it!

In case you wonder what I've been doing,

the photos below depict some of it!

I had a total knee revision in November 2019,
which slowed me down for awhile.
Riding a 4 wheeler was one thing I could do
that brought me great enjoyment.

Instead of just photographing my feathered friends...

...I started painting them!
The bluebird above was one of my first attempts.

The cardinal is one of my latest paintings,
and now has found a new home with 
one of my good friends.
I guess you can tell it was painted on a rock.
I

The chickadees went to my youngest daughter.

The hairy woodpeckers were a birthday gift to
a friend.

The red headed woodpecker will be going
to a friend who has had these birds for regular visitors
in her back yard. 

I've enjoyed the pileated woodpeckers that have been

quite regular visitors at my suet feeder,

so tried painting them on floor tiles.

They seem to be favorites.
I've done 5 of them so far!

I've even done some work on wood,
 accenting it with wood burning.
It's been a great way to pass the time while recuperating!

My "Joy in the Mourning" book is still available by ebook
from Friesen Press or Amazon if you'd like to
read my journey from grief to joy after losing
three siblings in an auto accident that happened
in front of me on the way to my father's funeral.

Thank you for honoring me with your visit!
My other blog -  Rock4Today
should be posting some new painted rocks
with Names of God on Rocks sometime soon!

Sincerely,

Esther Joy

(Previous post on 2/3/19 removed,
and replaced with this post on 6/6/19)

The Throne Room of God

What does the Throne of God look like?

The Bible gives word pictures, but these 

images are far beyond my power to recreate in art.

When checking on Google I found many attempts

of artists to capture the glory of God on His throne.

You can view some of them HERE!

SO...

since I am not the best artist,

let's just look at some of the "Word Pictures"

found in the Holy Scriptures
and I'll throw in a couple of my photos!

God said,

"Heaven is my throne,

and earth is my footstool..."

Isaiah 66:1 and Acts 7:49

Jacob saw a stairway or ladder reaching to heaven in his dream,
with God at the top and angels ascending and descending.
Was this God on His throne?
Genesis 28:10-22 - Jacob called it
"An Awesome Place", 
"The House of God",
 and "The Gate of Heaven".

Isaiah said he had a vision of the LORD on His throne,
"High and lifted up,
and the train of His robe filled the temple".
As far as I can tell, Isaiah is the only one in the Bible who mentions
seraphims, angel beings with 6 wings who flew around the Throne of God.
Isaiah 6

Ezekiel was a man who said
"the heavens were opened to him,
and he had visions of God".
He speaks of
"the likeness of a throne
in appearance like a sapphire stone",
and mentions fire, brightness,
and a rainbow round the throne.
Ezekiel 1

Then there was John, the Beloved Disciple, 
who wrote the Book of Revelation.
John says in Revelation 4 that he saw
"a door open in heaven".
He saw a throne, 
 One sitting on the throne, and
"A Rainbow around the Throne".
From the Throne there proceeded
"Lightnings, thundering and voices."
He describes a
"Sea of glass in front of the Throne."
Maybe that sea of glass is the
"pure river of water of life"
that flows from the Throne!
(Revelation 22:1)

As I study about God's Throne,
how Majestic and Holy He is,
it amazes me that He invites me to
"Come boldly" to His Throne of Grace,
so that we may
"Obtain mercy and find grace"
to help in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16


Whether you need prayer,
or know of someone who needs prayer,
let's go to God's throne
to find the mercy and grace that is needed!

(I hope to begin some posts soon
about Biblical characters who saw the glory of God,
how it affected them,
and how it can help us.)