Testimony Time :: Bonnie

Good morning, friends!

I have had the wonderful privilege of growing up in a Christian family. For as long as I can remember, we've read the Bible together each day (usually multiple times - once in the morning, and once in the evening) and prayed together. My parents have always instilled in my siblings and I the wonderful benefits and blessings of having a relationship with the Lord Jesus.

I don't remember this, but I'm told the time I accepted Jesus into my heart was on the 24th of January 2001, when I was almost 3 years old (I know, young, right??).

I am a sinner, and I know that the wrong things I have done make it impossible for me to attain Heaven's perfection under my own merits. I am a sinner, a fallen human being, and cannot live for eternity with the Lord because of my wrongdoing.

But God, in His everlasting love, faithfulness, justice and mercy, provided a way for me to be saved - His son, Jesus, who He sent down to earth. Jesus lived a perfect life, then was cruelly killed on a cross, a punishment he did not deserve. If I put my faith and hope in Jesus, then his righteousness is transferred to me and I am pure, spotless and clean, making me able to enter Heaven when my walk on this earth is done.

I was baptized in December 2010. That was a wonderful experience, being able to publicly declare who I trusted in and that I was following Jesus.

I think the one word that best sums up God during my walk with Him is "faithful".

Throughout all the hills and the valleys and the ups and downs of life, God is always faithful. And he always will be.

I have found, in my life, that God is always able to be fully trusted. He is in control, no matter what happens. I am most definitely not perfect. I make mistakes, all the time, and botch it up. But God is merciful, gracious, forgiving and loving.... He is my best friend and I absolutely cannot imagine life without Him.

I'd like to close here with a couple of my very favourite scripture references.


Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path that leads to life, in Your presence is fullness of joy.

Isaiah 43:1-3

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior

Many blessings to you all! :)

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Criticism Vs. Encouragement

Hello everyone!

Recently I have had a very critical attitude towards one of my family members. God convicted me of it when I read in my Bible reading 1 Thessalonians 5:11 which says "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." I thought: Am I building up and encouraging that person? No! I'm tearing them down!
I asked the person who I was critical towards to forgive me and they did, and I have asked God to help me be encouraging and loving to each member of my family.

Why am I telling you this?

I think it's so important that we know how much harm our critical words can do. Here are some Bible verses that talk about critical words and the power of the tongue.


Proverbs 18:21
The power of the tongue is life and death— those who love to talk will eat what it produces.

Proverbs 15:1

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Matthew 12:36-37

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment


Because our tongues are powerful. They are extremely powerful, aren't they! What we say cannot be undone no matter how speedily we say "I didn't mean to say that." They leave a lasting impression.

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Let me encourage you to be encouraging towards those around you. It's so wonderful to be an encourager. 

Even if you think critical thoughts towards someone but don't voice them, it can still be picked up in your attitude. Think encouraging thoughts.

Acts 20:35
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Do you feel special when someone encourages you? Well, since it is more blessed to give than to receieve, imagine how much more awesome it is when you encourage others!

Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

Let's all be encouragers!

Happiness

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”  — Psalm 28:7

“I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.”  — Psalm 9:2

“The joy of a smile :)” by Rakesh JV is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

I work in a local business, doing some general cleaning two afternoons a week. One afternoon, as I swept the floor, I whistled, only half thinking about what I was doing. Someone walked in, and as my usual custom I continued sweeping, ignoring him. Usually, I only talk after I’ve been talked too. Being an introvert does have its helpful sides at times—I dislike trying to start conversations. My mind wandered onto what I would be doing later, when suddenly the man’s words cut into my thoughts. “Are you happy?”

The question was so startling that I stopped whistling and continued sweeping for another second or two before looking up. My mind busily sorted out an answer. For a long time, I was longing to be truly happy. But now? The answer to the question almost surprised me when I found it. “Yes, I am happy.” I said, looking at him. Then I began sweeping again, before a nudge (from God?) made me ask, “What about you?” I glanced up once, then continued with my job.

“I’m trying to be.” He responded. He soon walked out—probably done for the day. But his question—and my answer—made me very thoughtful.

Happy. Something that I long to be. And, with a stranger’s question, my view on life suddenly changed a little. Yes, I am happy—whether or not I’ve ever noticed it before. I’m content. And I believe that’s because of God.

Now I’ll turn the question to you:
Are you happy? Or are you just trying to be happy?

It’s a thought-provoker, I’ll admit! But it’s a good question to answer. And, if you are truly happy, I believe with my whole heart that others will be able to see that. They might not say anything. But they’re watching. They want happiness, too. And when they see it in you, they start to wonder.

Be joyful!
-Esther

P.S. I don’t like to mention things like this, but Cosette told us a couple weeks ago of her decision to leave the writing team. Her life has recently gotten much busier, so although it’s sad to see her go we understand. However, I would like to ask—would you please join us in praying that someone will either come to take her place or else that there would be enough submitted posts to fill in her day (the second Friday of each month)? Thank you! -Esther, for the JOJ team

Thoughts for Tuesday

What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?

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What have you thanked the Lord for today?


(I'm sorry this is so short and to the point...I'm kind of running low on inspiration today. ;) Blessings!)

Shine!

“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the [daughters] of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world….”
—Philippians 2:15

It’s hard to be a shining light. Matthew 5:14 says that we are the light of the world. That’s a pretty high expectation, isn’t it? But God also promises that “[He] is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…” (Ephesians 3:20).

Even though He promises that, it’s still oh-so-easy to forget and go off on our own thing, then get depressed at our lack of love and spiritual awareness of God (sound familiar, anyone?). We get to feeling like God doesn’t really love us after all—and even if He does we aren’t really worth His notice anyway. Friends, I want to tell you, though—that thought is wrong. Just think about this little fact for a moment:

Jesus is real. And He’s still working.

“Candle light” by Alesa Dam is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Now, I know it sounded strange for me to say that, but I think sometimes we can forget this simple, yet profound fact. We shouldn’t forget—oh, no, of course not! But when we don’t really see Him working in a drastic way in our lives at the moment, it becomes easy to forget. To forget that He actually IS the Son of God, come down to a little earth that He made, confining Himself (as God) to the body of man’s flesh—that He had created! It was—is—an incredible event.

But while we can know all that in our heads, it’s easy—too easy—to forget that in our hearts. So this next week, I challenge you: Practice remembering God’s presence in your life. Take time to remember what He’s done for you in the past. Notice all the things He made—in a single word! And then remember that He took special pains to make you just perfect, not just speaking and forming man in a single word like He did the animals (see Genesis 1:27 and 2:7 on that). No. He took special pains to make you. Then, beyond that, remember that Jesus prayed for you—for you!—here on earth! In John 17:20 Jesus is praying, and He says, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word…” (emphasis mine). That’s you He’s talking about there!

By remembering, your light can shine brighter—because it has good reason to! When we forget why we’re here, what our purpose in life is, and Who Jesus really is, our light dims. But by remembering, our joy—our light for Jesus—grows brighter.

Remember. So that you’ll never forget. Because He calls you “precious” (1 Peter 2:3-5).

Esther

Encouraging our Siblings

As a big sister to five of the most wonderful brothers and one precious sister, I have plenty of opportunities to encourage my siblings. Each day the Lord gives me with my family is a priceless gift – and I thank him for both.

Abigail and Micah

Here are some practical ways sisters can encourage their siblings.  There are so many avenues you can travel down, but I hope my ideas and thoughts will only be a starting point for you.

-Memorize Scripture with your siblings.  Encourage them in personal Bible reading.  I know many of you are already doing that.  One way my siblings and I like to get into God’s Word together is by participating in the National Bible Bee.

-Praise them!  “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” (Prov. 25:11). Words are so powerful – we can’t take them back after they have been spoken – why not say words that will build them up?!

-For siblings of younger ages, tell them stories or read to them.  My 2 year old brother, Micah, loves to cuddle in my lap have me read a story to him. Sometimes even my siblings that are older will gather round to hear also!  You can also play with them.  Micah loves for me to build him big train tracks or chase him in a game of tag.  It’s also fun to sing together.

-Have a party, just because!  Invite them to a special time together – it could be one-on-one or all together. Have a special snack and drink, maybe play a game they enjoy.

-Take an interest in their activities. A building project with the brothers, a little bread loaf your sister made or even a simple drawing your 2 or 3 year old sibling made are opportunities to praise them!

-Including them in your activities is another wonderful way to build relationships. They will be thrilled to be doing “big people things”. If you’re washing windows, get them a rag and let them help!  Letting a little sibling help you with a baking project would make them so happy.

-Give them little letters and notes. I like to write little notes with scripture or a word of encouragement or praise to them. Put them somewhere where they’ll be surprised – like on their pillow.

-Do a special project or activity together. For brothers, this might mean playing baseball or Frisbee with them, building towers together with Popsicle sticks and hot glue, going with them on hikes or ATV rides in the woods… And for sisters, you could do a baking project together, card making or do her hair a special way.  If you do not sleep in the same room, let her “camp out” on your floor once in a while.

-Give them hugs and tell them “I love you” often. You never know how much more time you have with them – treasure the moments! It’s so precious to have them return the smiles and hugs.

There are many, many more ways to encourage and bless our siblings. Branch out and find new ideas and activities and make lasting memories with them.

May Jesus bless you abundantly – Press on, sisters!

Recipe Wednesday: Happiness

Recipe for Happiness:

“Happy England as painted by Helen Allingham, R.W.S”
by emmeffe6 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Mix together (preferably in a home inhabited by a family):

• Lots of laughter
• A sprinkle of fun
• A cup (or two) of bright sunshine
• A shelf of good books
• Large doses of siblings playing together
• Boxes of chocolate icecream
• An abundance of hugs

 
Leave a minute or two to set, then open wide the doors and let it spill out into the surrounding neighbourhood. You can’t keep happiness contained for long.
 
(Note: It’s best when served fresh.)

Enjoy!
-Bonnie

Note from Esther: Thanks for the good recipe, Bonnie! While I find it slightly humorous, it’s still very true. Thanks for sharing.

And to everyone else: I’m always looking for more recipes, so if you have one you think others would appreciate please stop by our Submissions Page and send it in. Thanks!

Joy

This is something I’ve been pondering on lately. It’s something that is so important for every Christian to have, and the second in the list of the “Fruits of the Spirit”, in Galatians 5:22-23. Joy is something that all of us long to have, and something that people can never experience to the full until after they have accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour and Friend. Below are a few thoughts about joy.

Source: Esther on Pinterest

Source: Esther on Pinterest

Source: Esther on Pinterest

Source: Esther on Pinterest

 

Source: Esther on Pinterest

Joy is an amazing gift. What has made you joyful today?

Blessings,