Have I Done my Best for Jesus ~

Do you ever find yourself while all alone, quietly reflecting 

over your past days of walking with the Lord

and wondering...have I really done my best for Jesus?

I do...a lot... because the desire of my heart is to live my life following hard after God.

I love to look back and ponder on life, the good and the bad,

because I believe I can learn from all my past experiences.
There's no better time than now with the New Year here
to look back and reflect on how I have lived my life throughout 2018.
One of my favorite hymns is ~
"Have I done my best for Jesus", the lyrics have a way of speaking
right to my heart about my walk with the Lord.  

~ ~ ♡ ~ ♡ ~ ♡ ~ ~

~ Have I Done my best for Jesus ~

"I wonder, have I done my best for Jesus,
Who died upon the cruel tree? To think of His great sacrifice at Calvary!
I know my Lord expects the best of me."

Jesus paid the price and was crucified for my salvation.
Am I sharing with others of what Christ has done for me?
"For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast"
~ Ephesians 2: 8 & 9 ~

"The hours that I have wasted are so many,
The hours I've spent for Christ so few;
Because of all my lack of love for Jesus,
I wonder if His heart is breaking too."

I often ponder on the hours in a day that God affords me,
am I using them wisely for the Kingdom of Heaven?
Do I go about my daily life, moment by moment
loving Him, serving Him, worshiping Him, praising Him, honoring Him?

"I wonder have I cared enough for others,
Or have I let them die alone? 
I might have helped a wanderer to the Savior,
The seed of precious Life I might have sown."

Do I see the need that surrounds me and faithfully plant the seed of salvation?
Am I sharing the love of Christ to a lost and hurting world? 
Do I care enough to put into action what I know to be true of God's Word
to the benefit of others?

No longer will I stay in the valley, I'll climb the mountain heights above,
The world is dying now for want of someone 
to tell them of the Savior's matchless love."

"How many are the lost that I have lifted?
How many are the chained I've helped to set free?
I wonder have I done my best for Jesus,
when He has done so much for me."

God has supplied a divine formula for rescuing His people who are lost in their sin ~
  His rich mercy ~ Psalm 103:8-12
His great Love ~John 3:16 ~ Romans 5:8 ~ 1 John 4:9
His Grace ~ 1 Timothy 1:13-14 
And all these combined produce a Free Gift ~ Romans 6:23
Received through Faith ~ Romans 10:17

As a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, my desire is to be found faithful
to God the Father, to Christ who redeemed me,
to the Holy Spirit who equips me, to the Word of God,
which instructs me, convicts me, and sharpens me,
so that I can do my best for Jesus.
"For the Love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge,
that if one dies for all, then were all dead; ... that they which live
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him
which died for them, and rose again."
~ 2 Corinthians 5: 14 & 15 ~
I would be deceiving myself and frustrating the grace of God (Galatians 2: 21)
if I believed I could earn my salvation through doing good works.
What I do for the Lord is out of love and gratitude 
to the Lord Jesus for saving me.

"Go to bed seasonably, and rise early. 
redeem your precious time: Pick up the fragments of it,
that not one moment of it may be lost.
Be much in secret prayer, converse less with man, and more with God."
~ George Whitefield ~ 

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 George Whitefield said it well ~
May we rise early and begin our day redeeming the time
that we have been given so that not one moment may be lost
as we live out our days to the glory of God.
With a New Year ahead of us may we be found faithful
in our prayer life, in our worship time alone in the presence of our Holy God, 
in our moment by moment walk with God
as we are guided and directed of the Holy Spirit.
I am looking to do my best for Jesus, as I daily choose to walk in His perfect ways.
May this New Year find us doing our best for the Kingdom of God.

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Precious Heavenly Father, 
We seek Thee, but we will only find Thee
when we have sought Thee with our whole heart and mind.
We turn to the Holy Spirit, our guide and teacher.
May our hearts yield to Your work with joy unspeakable.

To God be the Glory!
~ Debbie ~

Merry Christmas ~

☆ Jesus ☆

He came not to a throne, but to a manger.

He lived not as a king, but as a servant.

He chose not a kingdom, but a cross.

He gave not just a little,

but everything.

~ Holley Gerth

~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
~ John 3:16-18


May the Lords great love bless you this Christmas!

Joy!
~ Debbie ~

Christmas Ornament Exchange ~

Hello friends and Merry Christmas!

My dear Stephanie over at The Enchanting Rose

hosted a Christmas ornament exchange

and what a wonderful way to begin my days of sharing and giving.

Christmas, the birth of our Savior, brings with it many traditions 

around the world, doesn't it?

Gift giving is such a joyous part of Christmas ~

 though gifts are bought, wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree,

there are many ways in which we can find to give.

We have opportunity to give of ourselves, our time, our hospitality and so much more...

For me, this ornament exchange allowed me to touch the life of another,
and meet and make two new friends

Thank you Stephanie!

 ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ♡ ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆ ~ ~

Allison, the dear lady who's name I was given does not have a Blog

so I will share with you the gift package I put together for her.

My new friend loves a Christ centered Christmas

winter birds and a vintage Christmas,

our likes are quite similar.

First I found some beautiful hand crafted place mats

that would lead me in gathering a theme of cardinals,

and what a delight it was looking for that awesome brilliant red bird.

The cardinals beauty is breathtaking as they perch themselves on a barren tree branch

on a winter's day surrounded by the snow.

God directed my path as I prayed over my theme package and dear Allison.

 

It was on a cold snowy day when my gift package arrived from Dixie.

I grabbed myself a cup of tea (some Adagio tea a precious friend gifted me)
sat next to the fire, and began to unwrap my lovely box, item for item.
This beautiful bow and music tissue paper was the beginning of 
something uniquely designed by my new friend Dixie.

When Dixie read my bio stating that I love birds
she went to work with her creative hands and made every ornament 
that would decorate the beautiful "feather" tree that she included.
Little red cardinals, bird seed balls and some darling nests with eggs!
Pure delight and joy is this precious tree that beautifully graces our home.
I was in awe of such a personal gift!

Dixie also decorated a bird feeder for the Holidays
and included some bird seed in a sweet Christmas goodie bag,
what a great idea!!

  I have enjoyed the Guide Post book and booklet during my afternoon tea time
as I sit quietly near the fire taking in the beauty of  the lights on our Christmas tree,
while beautiful Christmas music plays softly in the back ground.
Dixie certainly put some love and time into my gift package,
why, she even wrote the loveliest letter sharing about herself with such enthusiasm, 
her sweet and friendly personality leaped off the page.
I just knew I was going to connect with both Dixie and Allison!
These exchanges Stephanie puts together for us ladies to enjoy
certainly affords us the opportunity of becoming friends 
with ladies we may never even meet or see this side of Eternity,
but I can attest that real friendships can be made should we take the time to reach out.

  ~ ~ ☆ ☆ ♡ ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆ ~ ~

In my last post weeks ago, my husband and I were preparing to leave for Canada
for my father-in-laws memorial service. 
It was a {{cold}} wet and snowy trip, for which I was not quite prepared for,
but God looked after us and kept us safe both in the air and on the ground.
After our return home we were blessed to have our three oldest grandsons
for a few days during their Thanksgiving school break.

The boys and I played games, more games and even more games.

We had a day at the pool, enjoyed playtime out in the snow, lots of snacking

with plenty of "Beethoven" movies followed by a nap near the fire
as we each curled up in a cozy spot.

Family gathered for an early Thanksgiving dinner of fried chicken,

yes, fried chicken. 😉

Thanksgiving Day was quiet and relaxing, just my husband and I
and a wonderful turkey dinner.

With our daughters being married, we must share family time.

After the boys left I began "Decking the Halls"

preparing our home for Christmas and the Birthday of our Savior.

Once the decorating is complete I can then focus on the joys of Christmas

while surrounded by the beauty of the Christmas tree and lights.

My mind is free to think of all that I hope to accomplish for loved ones
in this holy season.
This is the season of wonder and anticipation,
a time to ponder and prepare our hearts for the miracle 
and mystery of Christ's birth.
Jesus is the reason.
May the heart of Christmas~the love of Jesus, the joy of grace,
and the peace of God~be yours today and always!

Sending you, my dear readers, much love and Christmas Blessings 

♡

God's blessings be upon you!

~ Debbie ~

"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift"

2 Corinthians 9:15