Tag: Trust

Christian

If Only I Had Henry’s Perseverance! (Encouragement With a Dose of Humor)

Cindy Dawson

Perseverance: the quality of being someone who continues to make an effort to achieve their aims, even when this is difficult or takes a long time

To say that my pup, Henry, perseveres is the understatement of the year. If he wants something, he never gives up! Here’s an example:

Henry starts softly barking at me. I don’t know what he wants. I keep saying, “What? What?” He doesn’t give up. Finally, he starts doing twirls. That’s one of his tricks. Now I get it. He wants a treat!

Henry sleeps in my bed. For some reason, he wants me to get up every morning at 6:30. In fact, he insists on it! After he gets me up, he gets in his dog bed and goes back to sleep!

About 9pm he’s ready for bed. He gets his favorite toy and waits for me to put him up on my bed.

In the photo below, Henry is hiding from me because he thinks I’m going out and I’ll put him in the bathroom. Why? Because he saw me put on make-up! (I’m not kidding!)

Below Henry enjoys the electric blanket. (Do you think he’s spoiled?)

Every day at 4:00 pm he thinks he is supposed to get a special treat. Trust me, he won’t give up until he gets it. When my son was keeping Henry for a couple of days he forgot to give him his 4:00 treat. Henry literally went and got the bag of treats!

Henry knows what it means to persevere. He wants what he wants and he never tires until he gets it. Watching him reminds me that perseverance is effective. God reminds me that if Henry can persevere, so can I! So can you!

I hope that adding a little humor to this admonition will give you a laugh and help you to be as persevering as Henry!

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3 NIV

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 NIV

“…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;” 2 Peter 1:5-6 NIV

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

RealChristianWomen.blog  

Christian

Friday’s Verse, 1/12/24

Cindy Dawson

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting comfort and encouragement and the good [well-founded] hope [of salvation] by His grace, comfort and encourage and strengthen your hearts [keeping them steadfast and on course] in every good work and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 AMP (emphasis mine)

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

RealChristianWomen.blog  

Photo by Tara Winstead: https://www.pexels.com

Christian

Verse for Meditation, 1/11/24

Cindy Dawson

“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” 2 Thessalonians 3:5 NIV (emphasis mine)

To direct means “to remove the obstacles that stand in the way” – in this case, any barriers to spiritual growth. (David Jeremiah Study Bible notes)

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

RealChristianWomen.blog  

Christian

Quote of the Week, 1/10/24

Cindy Dawson

Jesus came and the last days began. The church has been waiting in expectancy since then… Let’s make sure our words and actions put forth a clear message that Jesus is coming soon, and that all need to be ready to meet Him.”

Amir Tsarfati, from his book The Day Approaching

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” Hebrews 1:1-2 NIV (emphasis mine)

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

RealChristianWomen.blog

Photo by Stacey Franco on Unsplash

Christian

Monday’s Verse, 1/8/24

Cindy Dawson

“And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Romans 13:11 NIV

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

RealChristianWomen.blog

Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

Christian

Sunday’s Memory Verse, 1/7/24

Cindy Dawson

“Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24 NIV

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

RealChristianWomen.blog

Photo by John-Mark Smith: https://www.pexels.com

Christian

Friday’s Verse, 1/5/24

Cindy Dawson

“casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” 1 Peter 5:7 AMP

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

Photo by Worshae on Unsplash

RealChristianWomen.blog

Christian

Monday’s Verse, 1/1/24

Cindy Dawson

“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19 NIV (emphasis mine)

My thoughts: We have the Bible, which is the prophetic message, to guide us in this dark world.

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

RealChristianWomen.blog

Christian

Sunday’s Memory Verse, 12/31/23

Cindy Dawson

“A kindhearted woman gains honor,
    but ruthless men gain only wealth.” Proverbs 11:16 NIV

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

RealChristianWomen.blog

Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

Christian

Don’t Run From God: A Lesson From Jonah

Cindy Dawson

My Bible reading plan led me to the book of Jonah. Even though I thought I knew this book well, God showed me something new.

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” Jonah 1:1-3

Jonah didn’t want to preach to Nineveh because Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was cruel and wicked. Israel hated the Assyrians! They were barbaric! No wonder Jonah didn’t want to go there!

You probably know the rest of this story. A great storm arose at sea and the crew threw Jonah overboard. Then,

“…the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Jonah 1:17

Jonah cried out to the Lord…

“And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” Jonah 2:10

The Bible doesn’t tell us what kind of fish swallowed Jonah, but one possibility is the Blue Whale, the largest animal on earth, a marine creature without teeth. Learning about God’s creation is fascinating and the blue whale is no exception.

We know for a fact that whales can and do vomit. Did you know that whale vomit, also known as ambergris, can be worth thousands of dollars per ounce? In 2021, a group of fishermen in the Gulf of Aden sold a chunk of ambergris worth around $1.5 million to a buyer in the United Arab Emirates. 

Ambergris or whale vomit, also known as Floating Gold

But I digress. Another interesting fact about blue whales is that they have 4 to 6 compartments in their stomachs, any of which could house a group of grown men. The nasal cavity contains an enormous air storage chamber often measuring 7’x7’x14′.

Many skeptics have said the story of Jonah would be impossible. But after doing a little research, I’m not so sure. Of course, nothing is impossible for God anyway. But I found these facts about the blue whale quite interesting.

The question before Jonah was this: “Will I accept that God is God and yield myself to His will? That same question is before us today.

My advice: Don’t run from God. He has some interesting ways of getting our attention and He knows how to get us to do what He wants us to do!

Sources:

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

RealChristianWomen.blog