Forgiving and Remembering...

Forgiveness/Remembering…

Our pastor did a word study for us on Wednesday night on the word “remember”. While he was speaking, my mind was drifting a little to the idea that if we are to forgive and forget as best we can the ones who have wronged us in our life, there is another side of that coin.

According to Philippians 4:8 we are to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report and so if we are to think on these things we can begin to remember the good.

We are to remember God:

Psalm 143:5 “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.”

Pastor took this verse and looked at the word “muse” – to consider something thoughtfully – syn. “chew over, contemplate, excogitate, meditate, mull, mull over, ponder, reflect, ruminate, speculate, think over” (I especially like “ruminate” because being from farm country I can relate to that word, like a cow out in the field chewing and rechewing its food).

So as I look at the world around me, the trees, the beauty in nature, or even the diversity and beauty in other people and the works of the hand of man controlled by the creativity God gives, I see the creator in all these things and I can “muse” on the works of God.

I was thinking as pastor read this verse… “I remember the days of old”… even though there are things we need to forgive and put behind us, there are many other things to remember.

My life was pretty spectacular growing up with many fond memories, yet there were those things that I need to forgive and put aside. If I spend my time thinking of the unpleasant things it make me spiral into grey thoughts and can even leads me to depression. I am admonished in God’s Word to think of things that will uplift and encourage.

Remember. Remember God. Remember the works of God.

I Chronicles 16:12 was another of the verses Pastor gave us:

“Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;”

Again, we are admonished to remember His wonders, His judgments which are “true and righteous altogether” Psalm 19:9

I know this sounds like a rambling conversation rather than a “study” and I guess I’m just putting my thoughts to words, so hope you can get something out of this.

Of the 210 times that this word is used in our King James Bibles, many of the uses of this word are in reference to God remembering:

Genesis 8:1 “…God remembered Noah…” ; Genesis 9:16 “… remember the everlasting covenant…”; Genesis 19:29 “…God remembered Abraham…”; Genesis 30:22 “…God remembered Rachel…”; Exodus 2:24 “…God remembered His covenant…” etc…

The word is used 38 +/- times in the New Testament –

Most of the uses of the word in the New Testament have to do with “remembering” what Jesus had said. (see Acts 20:35, Luke 24:6).

I want to never forget what God has done in my life. I don’t want to forget how lost I was and how He came and lifted me out of the miry clay…



“Deeper and Deeper” - Oswald Jeffrey Smith

Into the heart of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Seeking to know the reason
Why He should love me so,
Why He should stoop to lift me
Up from the miry clay,
Saving my soul, making me whole,
Though I had wandered away.

Into the will of Jesus,
Deeper and deeper I go,
Praying for grace to follow,
Seeking His way to know;
Bowing in full surrender
Low at His blessèd feet,
Bidding Him take, break me and make,
Till I am molded, complete.
Into the cross of Jesus

Deeper and deeper I go,
Following through the garden,
Facing the dreaded foe;
Drinking the cup of sorrow,
Sobbing with broken heart,
“O Savior, help! Dear Savior, help!
Grace for my weakness impart.”

Into the joy of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Rising, with soul enraptured,
Far from the world below.
Joy in the place of sorrow,
Peace in the midst of pain,
Jesus will give, Jesus will give;
He will uphold and sustain.

Into the love of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Praising the One Who brought me
Out of my sin and woe;
And through eternal ages
Gratefully I shall sing,
“O how He loved! O how He loved!
Jesus, my Lord and my King!”

family pictures



Our handsome grandsons





and beautiful daughters

 ...got together just before Thanksgiving for a little family time in MD.  I had to work, so couldn't go, but wish I could have been there.  They visited the Baltimore Aquarium...



"sssshhhh" - interpretation:  "fish"





I don't know what they were looking at, but must have been interesting.

 We'll all be together for Christmas, Lord willing, and some more family fun.

Christmas craftiness...

Newest "Bee Green Bag" made from an old felted wool sweater I picked up at the thrift store and a few embelishments.  This is a one-of-a-kind.  fully lined with pocket.  So much fun to make!

Yoyo flowers and crewel stems and leaves.

old-fashioned embroidered dish towels



worked better without the flash... this one is my favorite

 I've had some fun with my sewing this year.  I still have a few projects in the works and will post those when I get them done.  I like to take pictures of these so I can remember what I did for future projects.

Hope you are able to take some creative time out.

Hodge Podge Wednesday

1. What lesson has failure taught you?

Probably the greatest thing failure teaches me is patience with others who don't get it right.  I know that God uses failure in my life to make me even more dependant on Him also, but it makes me more understanding and tolerant of others.

2. What decision are you glad you made?

Of course the most important decision I have ever made was when I accepted Jesus as my Savior from sin. 

Most other major decisions I've made over the years are ones I just fell into, but I am happy with many of them, such as the decision to go back to school and get my degree in education, the decision to marry again after Don died, the decision to purchase a piece of property on the side of a hill with LOADS of rocks.  Of course we pray about the decisions we make, but it does take a step of faith into the unknown and trust that God will lead... and He always has.  Every major decision has come with butterflies in the stomach, but if it has been prayed through those will go away.

3. I've been a little bit surprised to see fully lit and decorated Christmas trees popping up for the past several weeks in friend's Instagram feeds. So tell the truth-is your tree up and decorated, and if so when did that happen? If not, when will you be decking the halls?

We don't have an indoor tree, not because we don't want one, but because we have no room.  As you can see in the picture at the top of my blog, we have a tiny tree that we could put up, but no room for it... really.  Camper living means every nook and crannie is filled with things you need.  If it is not needed it goes.  I will have an outdoor tree this year since we have the electricity hooked up outside but not till after Thanksgiving.

4. Solitaire-Poker-Rummy-Hearts-Go Fish-Old Maid...which game of cards would you most like to join?

We love playing games.  On holidays our family sits around and plays games one after the other... lots of fun and relaxing.  Our favorite is the Monopoly card game, the older one, not the newer version.  We also like a game we play with Rook cards called "Scum" and my daughters and I like "Dutch Blitz" and a card/board game called "Sequence".

5. This question comes to you courtesy of a Facebook friend, who once upon a time had a blog...When you're feeling stressed do you snack a lot or are you more the 'can't eat' type?

Real stress makes me sick to my stomach, but mild stress such running around trying to get stuff done, makes me eat the wrong kinds of foods.  I eat fast foods that are high in fat and sugar and those are things I really should keep away from.  If I have plenty of time I like to prepare and eat good foods like fresh veggies and grilled meats with all the fat trimmed off etc.

6. Have you ever reviewed a product or service on line? Was your review favorable or less than favorable?

I haven't done this.

7. What was the best conversation you had yesterday?

The last couple of days have been quiet at our house since Mr. D is preparing a message for Prayer Meeting at church.  He works outside during daylight hours and then at night comes in to study.  He has been studying a lot which means I either go to the house and work on sewing projects or sit on the little couch and hand stitch or read.  We did have quite a discussion at work yesterday about the health insurance changes that are happening.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm currently embroidering a tea towel with Bluettes which were my mother's favorite.  I'm excited to see how they will come out.

Have a happy Wednesday.  Join up with HodgePodge Wednesday at http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/

 

MORE ON "FORGIVENESS"

Psalm 103:3

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

When we repent, God is willing to forgive and cleanse. This is a finished work, it’s not a thing we should pick up and examine over and over (I John 1:9).

God does the forgiving of sin. He buries our sins it in the deepest ocean, sends them as far as the east is from the west.

Psalm 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.


Can we forgive ourselves? I’ve thought about this a while and I’m not sure that is a Biblical concept. We need to know God’s forgiveness.

Just as he has forgiven us, we can forgive others their trespasses against us.

Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Matthew 6:14
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

What if someone asks for forgiveness and we are unwilling to forgive. This is sin and will disrupt our relationship with others and with God.

Luke 6:37
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:


What if you need to forgive someone who is no longer alive, or is not able to communicate with you for one reason or another. They may not be able or willing to ask for forgiveness. We can forgive them anyway and this will have an effect in our life. Did the Roman guards ask for forgiveness at the foot of the cross? Look at some Bible examples of forgiveness: Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25,27,32,33)

Joseph forgiveness of his brothers (Genesis 37-50)

David and Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9)

The Prodigal Son (Luke 15)

Some of these asked for forgiveness, others did not, that wasn’t a limiting factor of forgiveness.

What about the woman caught in adultery (John 8) precious words of Jesus…

John 8: 10,11
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more

God forgave us while we were yet sinners. (Romans 5:8)

We could write our own story. What about you when…






As far as “forgiving ourselves”, we should try to remember that God is the one we need to seek forgiveness from if we have sinned against Him. This could be in our attitude. Like I tell my Sunday School class: “Sin is anything we do, say, or think that displeases God”. We need to repent of those things and leave them with the Lord. If we are able to seek forgiveness from someone we have wronged, I think it is good for them and ourselves to go to them and ask for forgiveness and let them know we are sorry. If they are unwilling to forgive, we have done the right thing and before God we are forgiven. Satan would like to make us think we are still condemned, but what does God say about that?

We are no longer condemned…

Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Is there anything too hard for God to forgive?

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.

When the Bible says “all”, that means all. Reflect again on the story of Corrie Ten Boom who came face-to-face with the SS guard who had murdered so many. Had God truly forgiven him? What about David in the Bible? Did God forgive him when he asked for forgiveness? (Psalm 51)

Acts 13:22
… he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.

I’d say in conclusion here, though I’m sure I will learn many more things on this topic as time goes on, it is easy to see that the world has an entirely different view of what forgiveness means. I’ve looked around the internet and read excerpts from books and magazine articles and the conclusion I make is Forgiveness is of God. Our ability to forgive and forgiveness of our sins… God is the author.

A Trip to the Great North Woods

On Saturday a friend and I took a trip to Northern New Hampshire.  When my brother and I were much younger we took a fishing trip to some places around Berlin, NH.  There were lots of logging roads due to the Paper Company pulling out pulp wood.  The whole countryside is covered with spruce and pulp paper was big business at that time.  Many of those mills have closed now or gone to recycling.  We went on Saturday even further north to the Third Connecticut Lake. 





falls on Beaver Brook

 

Ice forming on small branches at Third Connecticut Lake

 


My friend taking pictures at Scott's Bog.

 

Scott's Bog

 




Second Connecticut Lake

Yup, that's the first snows of this winter.
Later this night we received 4 inches.



We had a wonderful trip enjoying the beauty of God's creation.  Many years ago this area was logging territory.  See the history of Pittsburg, NH here http://www.greatnorthwoods.org/pittsburg/logging/



HodgePodge Wednesday (a day early)



Click above for Hodge Podge Home Page and join the fun.



Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 149

1. My sister is celebrating a birthday today. Happy Birthday little sis! What's one way you're like your siblings? If you don't have siblings how are you like your lifelong best friend or cousin?

In many ways I am very different from my brother, but one thing is the same, that we both love and serve a great God.

2. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of yourself at age eighteen?

Hmmm rebellious and headstrong… maybe they are the same thing, not really sure, but that’s what I think I was like. I was always busy doing something or going somewhere and planning for college at that time.

3. Sculptor-actor-painter-dancer...if you could excel in one of these arts, which would you choose and why?

I would love to be a good painter. My daughter is a lovely painter/artist.  She has the "artist's eye".  I especially like painting, but never was very good at it.

4. What's a scent that takes you back in time, and where does it take you?

Some time ago I bought some Herbal Essence Shampoo and when I used it I was taken back in time. I did use this shampoo exclusively all through high school.



5. November is for Peanut Butter Lovers (National Peanut Butter Lovers Month). Are you a lover or a hater?

I just ate 3 spoonsful of peanut butter. YUM!

What's your favorite dish/recipe that calls for peanut butter?

Chocolate/peanut butter no-bake cookies and/or peanut butter fudge - Christmas time only!!!

6. What do people thank you personally for most often?

For listening and my husband thanks me every time I cook a meal which I do most every day. Glad he can live through my cooking.



7. What event this year are you most thankful for?

I am thankful that Brandon was able to come for the summer and stay with us. He’s getting older now and I’m not sure how many more years he’ll want to come to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for the summer.  I am thankful that my 'lil Peanut and his mom live so close and I get to see them most every day.  I'm thankful for a great Sweetie who loves me no matter what and is patient with me even when I am crabby.  I am thankful for a good harvest and that it is almost all put up (dug beets but they are not put up yet). Thankful for my church family and for God most of all who forgave a rebellious, willful me.

8. Insert your own random thought here.