It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask

It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask

I thought I’d hidden

the desire of my heart

and buried it deep

 within the dark

~

But God helped me see

  asking’s not in vain

as He brought sweet comfort

to ease my pain

~

I then learned a lesson

about prayer at last

that I can fully trust God

and it doesn’t hurt to ask.

~

Wendy ❀ 2015

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Have you ever longed for something–something you didn’t believe you had any real power to make happen?  I’m thinking of the kind of wish you dared not give voice to.  Would it be like a wish on a star that simply dissipates if confessed aloud?

It was like this for me about a special desire I’d had for years.  I guess I’d never got over the disappointment of purchasing a losing ticket; that ticket worked my hopes up to a lather.  It was my first and last play at the lottery; however, I soon adopted a biblical world view and lost any interest in gambling.

But I had taken my fear of risk to extreme.

Wasn’t it safer not to hope, not to ask, and not to dream?  If I just pretended the desire wasn’t there, I could go on with life and avoid any pain or grief–so I thought. It turned out that a buried desire can still live and breathe and wield its influence over the bearer.

One day, I got out the shovel and dug it up.  I gave myself permission to hope again.  I was sitting in the rocking chair in my upstairs bedroom of a heritage home back in Victoria, and on my lap was a journal I had just entered a quote into.

It is easy for us to be defeated at the outset because we have been taught that everything in the universe is already set, and so things cannot be changed.  We may gloomily feel this way, but the Bible does not teach that.  The Bible pray-ers prayed as if their prayers could and would make an objective difference.  The apostle Paul gladly announced that we are ‘colaborers with God’ (1 Cor. 3:9); that is, we are working with God to determine the outcome of events.

-Richard J. Foster

When I dug up that old desire, it became fresh and vibrant again, and I was finally receptive to my hope growing as expansive as God enabled it.  I humbly let Him know that I was going to knock on His door for as long as it took or until He graciously let me know I should cease.

Believing that I did have some input into my future dreams set my faith aloft.

To pray is to change is another quote of Foster’s.  It’s exactly what happened to me.  Once my beseeching began, many changes happened in my life that I now see were all part of the answer to the prayer.  So the “Whatever will be, will be” mantra that had been playing over and over in my heart was replaced by a belief that I would be heard, and possibly even answered in the affirmative. It was knowing that I would be listened to that seemed to empower my entreaties the most. If the answer was to be negative, then I would rely on His comfort.

Sounded like a win-win to me.

Twenty-two months later, after twelve years of infertility, I was lying down on a bed in the ultrasound room of my local hospital watching my unborn child waving his arm as if to say, “Hi Mom! He said yes.”

A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul…

Proverbs 13:19

~

He settles the barren woman in her home

as a happy mother of children.

Praise the LORD.

Psalm 113:9

~

Prayerful Blessings ~ Wendy ❀

PS – I shared this post on my other blog in 2012.

But I wrote the poem recently.

I’ve got a new desire of my heart I’m now praying about.

~

Are you asking God for the desire of your heart?

It can’t hurt.

~

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Be at Rest

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Be at Rest

Because our God is good

my soul can be at rest

for God is in control

and works all things for best

Wendy/ 2015

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Each day I pick out a Bible verse from my morning reading and write it down in my journal. Then I pen out my thoughts and prayers. Most quiet times I’m also able to write a short poem in response to what I’ve read. Later I find one of my own pictures from my files to share with the verse and poem. My Facebook page features these on most days between Mon-Fri.

If you enjoyed today’s post, I’d love it invite you to follow my Facebook page.

You can view my Facebook feed below at the bottom of this blog page or click on the link below that opens a new page.

http://facebook.com/greenlightlady

Take a peek and see if it’s for you or not.

My main blog is at http://www.wendylmacdonald.com

At Rest Blessings ~ Wendy

˙·٠•●♥ Do I Love My Neighbor? ♥●•٠·˙

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____________________________

Do I Love My Neighbor?

____________________________

Do I love my neighbor

the one who can’t give back

or only greet my special friends

and not the ones who lack?

~

Do I love the outcast

the one who sits alone

or do I cast a stone-faced glance

that cuts right to the bone?

~

Do I love the sinner

who acknowledges her need of grace

or do I deny my own deeds of shame

and promptly turn away?

~

Do I love Jesus

the One who saves repentant lambs?

Then I must also love

all the sons and daughters of man.

~ 

Wendy ❀ 2015

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But I tell you:

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,

and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

If you love those who love you,

what reward will you get?

And if you greet only your brothers,

what are you doing more than others?

Do not even the pagans do that?

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 Matthew 5:44-48   

~

I recently heard of a young lady

who refused to hang out with friends

unless they were dolled-up with makeup (like she was).

Wow.

Just wow.

~

But then I remembered the time I shunned someone

because she wasn’t dolled-up with soap and a shower.

And I didn’t like the farm odors

emanating from her clothing.

~

And I was so wrong to do that.

Thankfully, I got with God’s program shortly after,

and I warmly welcomed her

the next time we ran into each other.

~

She’s a beautiful mother of a large family.

When you live on a dairy farm,

you’re bound to occasionally carry a fragrance

like that of a barn or a  manger.

~

If it was good enough for the King,

then it’s more than good enough for me.

~

I didn’t deserve a second chance.

But our God is the God of second chances,

while we’re still on this pasture.

~

Do you love your neighbor?

I’m asking God to fill me with His Love

so that it overflows

with the good deeds of His choosing.

~ 

I want to be dolled-up with God’s unconditional love.

~

Blessings of Love ~ Wendy ❀

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Fair Skies

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In this you greatly rejoice,

though now for a little while

you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

These have come so that your faith–

of greater worth than gold,

which perishes even though refined by fire–

may be proved genuine and may result in praise,

 glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:6-7

~

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Fair Skies

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

When skies are fair

It’s easy to believe

that goodness will prevail

and all is well with me

~

When skies are gray

It’s faith I need to see

beyond pewter clouds

to the God of Peace

~

Wendy ❀ 2014

~

Recently my husband, Ian, and I walked through one of our favorite parks.

Paradise Meadow is pristine.

We had a small lunch and coffee by a lake… heavenly.

I enjoyed a refreshing swim while Ian cooled off his feet.

God knew we needed this little respite,

 and we thanked Him for it–profusely.

~

We’d just come through  the gray clouds of uncertainty that we’d been under for over a year.

We knew Ian’s job was coming to an end,

 since the company was closing its doors this month.

But we chose not to panic–we prayed and waited

and worried  (Christians aren’t supposed to worry).

My husband ended up having a choice between three good options.

He chose the one that brought peace and provision.

Now we’re praising God for leading us back under clear skies.

There will be more clouds to walk under in this life…

but God…

will be there too .

~

Fair Sky Blessings ~ Wendy ❀

~

(Seeing God work in this part of our life

 gives me hope to keep trusting

 regarding our parenting prayers.)

~

You Know Best

~

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You Know Best

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My heart  faints in this desert land

where water’s needed from your Word

I see the fruit of wicked thoughts

and wonder how you bear what’s heard

~

The raucous songs of sinful tongues

are sung along this earthly road

where victims of the lyrics lie

without a peaceful place to go

~

Even within the rooms of homes

others can harm those in their care

 again I wonder how You stand

to see such hurting everywhere

~

Yet I still hope upon your grace

that You know best and see it all

For not one hair of your servant’s head

goes unnoticed when it falls.

~

Wendy ❀ 2014

~

At night,

when I rest my head on my pillow,

 my thoughts usually turn to the news and events of the day.

Recently I asked God how He can stand it all.

How can He bear the sounds of crying mothers,

and how does He cope with the broken hearts of fathers

who struggle to protect their families?

The morning after asking God these questions,

I found today’s verses and posted them on these pictures.

~

Old pains

won’t come to mind

on the new earth.

~

Joyful Heart Blessings ~ Wendy ❀

~

A Gentle Whisper

He reached down from on high

and took hold of me;

 he drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

from my foes,

who were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

but the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into a spacious place;

 he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Psalm 18:16-19

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A Gentle Whisper

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It was a gentle whisper

that turned my heart to Him

I was alone and starving

my tears unshed within

~

There seemed no hope for my life

although I strived in vain

I sought for worldly pleasures

but they only brought me pain

~

It was a gentle whisper

that caused my heart to turn

For Christ was gently knocking

as I was soon to learn

~

There are so many starving

and may we always pray

Lord, give us a gentle voice

that we might feed a heart today.

~

Wendy/1984

~

My Twitter profile says,

My faith is not shallow,

because I’ve been rescued from the deep.

Each time someone notices it and comments,

I tell them that maybe one day

 I’ll write a book about that rescue.

~

I was rescued over three decades ago from eating disorders.

It’s not something I talk about much.

But I know that I was not healed to keep it all to myself.

I wrote the above poem a few months after my healing in 1984.

Do you have a story that you’re supposed to tell?

~

Healing Blessings ~ Wendy

~

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

Psalm 18:1 

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Worry Not

~

Who of you by worrying

can add a single hour to his life?

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

and all these things will be given you as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about itself.

 Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:27 & 33-34

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What is Worry?

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

What is worry?

Is it the wish for life to hurry

to the happy ending part

the page that doesn’t stress our heart?

~

What is worry?

Is it an irritating fury

that things again have gone awry

and not according to our pride?

~

What is worry?

Is it our vision going blurry

when our eyes are off the ball

and we forget Christ sees it all? 

~

Wendy ❀ 2014

~

 I’ve been tempted to worry more than usual lately…

so this post is for me.

But I thought I’d share just in case you need it too.

~

Worry Free Blessings †

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Established in Love ✟

~

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,

continue to live in him,

rooted and built up in him,

strengthened in faith as you were taught,

and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-7

~

Why do lambs always make me think of my Lord?

Is it because I’m prone to wander?

Is it because the world sometimes seems

 more like a pig pen than a green pasture

and I long for heaven?

Or is it because I have a Good Shepherd watching out for me?

~

It’s all of the above and more.

Once upon a time

way back in the New Testament days

a pure, holy, and spotless Lamb was sacrificed for me

and for  you.

Christ paid my sin debt—and yours.

He rose from the dead

 and one day He’s coming back for me 

and you (if you’re one of his sheep).  

~

As always—it’s all about Jesus.

~

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

 And I pray that you,

being rooted and established in love,

may have power,

together with all the saints,

to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—

that you may be filled

to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17-19

~

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Here’s the ABC’s of the gospel (How I became one of God’s sheep). 

_____________________________________________________________

 A- I admitted that I was a sinner. 

 B- I believed(trusted) that Jesus died for me.

 C- I confessed that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

~ ✟ ~

Sheep Fold Blessings ❀ Wendy

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On Either Side

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On Either Side

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

On either side of Jesus

sinful men were hung

Guilty as charged of thievery

for the things they’d done

~

One of them joined in

with the mocking crowd

His voice part of the chorus

that jeered and taunted loud

~

The other man refrained

for he knew he was wrong

and he chastised the other

reminding him they belonged

~

 He said Jesus was righteous

and didn’t deserve to die

And that they should be afraid

to be adding to the cries

~

Then he turned to Jesus

and asked if he could be

remembered by the Lord

when He entered eternity

~

When Jesus saw his faith

 He replied assuredly

that he’d be with Him that day

 in Paradise eternally.

~

Wendy ❀ 2014

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This poem is based on one of my favorite Bible passages.

Jesus saves us.

 It’s not our religious activities that make us righteous.

Good works are an outcome of having been saved

and not the means to salvation.

It’s all about Jesus.

~

Easter Blessings ~ Wendy

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Chapter by Chapter

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Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him

endured the cross,

scorning its shame,

and sat down at the right hand

of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2

~

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Chapter by Chapter

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Each page

a day of my life penned

chapter by chapter

moving me forward in this plot

toward the victorious end

~

Writing faithfully

the Author and His Son

chapter by chapter

 making use of every detail

in this battle to be won

~

Crumpled papers

 used and not cast away

chapter by chapter

 words and deeds perfected

until the last page of my days .

~

Wendy ❀ 2014

~

 I’ve been busy working on a debut novel.

I’ve completed the first draft of my inspirational mystery (with some romance woven in).

Now I know who’s guilty and who’s innocent.

~

In the real world we’re all guilty.

But we have a Savior, Jesus, who has freed those

(who put their trust in Him )

from the punishment of their sins.

It’s the true Easter Story.

~

Are you ready for the end of your life story?

~

Happy Ending Blessings ~ Wendy ❀

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