Blessed: Living Now And Forever

Day Twenty-Five:


1 Thessalonians 5:10
All bouquets lose their freshness eventually. Everything suffers from the passing of time on earth. God has the power to give everlasting life. Jesus came to earth to open the door to everlasting life. God allows you to see past today, to see the glory of life with God. True beauty comes from God.
What are the blessings in your bouquet? In mine God has blessed me with honesty, love, supportive friendships, tests, uniqueness, joy and family, and many more things.
Psalm 139:13-16
Psalm 111:1
Psalm 116:1-2

This is the last of this devotional, so there may be a break in a few days as I look for another devotional to do. Thanks for tuning in to this one. Hope it affected you as much as it affected me!! Again, this devotional was out of the book "Bouquet of Blessings Devotions to Delight Your Soul."

Blessed: Forgiving and Being Forgiven

Day Twenty-Four:


Luke 6:37
A rose means "I love you," a rose with thorns means "I am angry with you." Meeting people is like handing out roses based on our feelings and actions toward that person.
Fragrances attract people. Fragrances can be found in friends with gentleness and peace and a genuine love for others. This is the person we are called to be.
Thorns repel people. Thorns can be people who are ill tempered, critical, and not willing to forgive. These open doors to suns that are meant to pull people apart, such as grudges.
God brings peace of forgiveness to our prickly lives. Forgive those who have hurt us in the past because God has forgiven you.

Blessed: Giving--and Receiving

Day Twenty-Three:


1 Peter 4:10
There are many "do not touch" women. These are ones who are high energy and vibrancy, and is a phenomenal giver. But, these women are uncomfortable receiving anything and doesn't ask for help. I am a "do not touch" woman. By being one, I am experiencing LESS than the FULL sum of God's blessings. I need to delight in gifts of others.
Thank God for the bouquet of blessings he has given others. Trust others to bless you and accept help from others. God's Holy Spirit works through me and the Holy Spirit works through the lives and hearts of others for me.

Whoa. Crazy how God works on certain things at certain times and continuously brings them up. Last week I made a goal for this month. To accept compliments and gifts from others. Tonight I was talking about this with a group of friends and just how I am working on changing that. Wow, this just hit me hard. This is EXACTLY what I needed to hear, this is EXACTLY what I am going through and what I need to do. It's times like this that makes me LOVE God even more!!

Blessed: Standing Firm

Day Twenty-Two:


Matthew 25:23
The bouquet of blessings God has given us needs special placement. It can't be put on a low, rickety table of worldly values where the blossoms will be mangled by society. It can't be placed where your confidence rests on your feelings. It can't be self-focused. The bouquet needs to be placed on a high, sturdy and safe shelf. This can be placed there by being lifted by Jesus' love, care and forgiveness. By being in the Word daily, God gives us confidence and love to make using our gifts for others possible.
Matthew 25:23 Is the gift when our faith begins to continuously grow daily.

Blessed: Living in Light

Day Twenty-one:


Jeremiah 18:3-6
Ephesians 2:10
1 Corinthians 10:31
Matthew 25:29
We typically stash away our blessings that God has given us. We don't tend to share them with others. We put them in the corner/ cupboard and hide them. False humility tells us to play down our talents and skills. Doubt creates fear and timidity. Ingratitude leads us to believe that God has not given us any gifts and talents. We rarely share our blessings with others. God helps us overcome fear and reach out in productive ways. By sharing your blessings with others God will give you even more blessings to share.

Wow. Sometimes these blessings have been brought up by other people. The other day I was told that I have amazing faith. I just kind of shrugged it off and played it down because I believe that I don't. So, I am one who hid my blessings. I told the person that I didn't agree with them...This past week I have noticed this alot. I don't receive gifts and compliments well at all...I shrug them off, change the conversation, and don't know how to respond alot of the time...so, my challenge for myself is to catch myself and just say thank you. And maybe even agree with them. Because God has given them the gift to notice those details about people. So, this whole devotional really hit it for me. Where I am today and what I needed to hear.

Blessed: Shaped to Support

Day Twenty:


Galatians 6:2
Be a friendship vase and be there for friends in times of need. Today my dog of 12 years old was put to sleep. It was really hard for me. But had friends there for me. I had friends who willingly came and sat with me and talked about my dog. I had friends who called me when they heard just to see if I was okay. I am so blessed to have found friendship vases all around me and to know that I am not alone.
There is a community of friends who love you and will pray for you. We are filled with God's abundant blessings. God fills us up with love and we fill others up with love through God.

Blessed: Shaped to Smile at God

Day Nineteen:


Isaiah 35:1
God speaks of his flowers like they are his children, dearly loved and tenderly cared for. We are his children and his flowers. Plants bloom because God designed them to bloom. Flowers smile at God all day long and thank him. Living a life of praise depends upon God, not our own circumstances.
Isaiah 35:1-2

Blessed: Shaped to Be a Blessing

Day Eighteen:


Genesis 12:2
You can see flowers wherever you look. People have been placed in our lives to be a blessing for us. God always has in mind what is best for us. He wants to bless us. By God's blessings toward us can we bless others. God will work through us to be a blessing to others.

Who has blessed you this week?
Who have you blessed this week?

Blessed: Shaped to Contain the Water of Life

Day Seventeen:


John 7:37
Water has life-renewing, life-sustaining power. Water can be used as a picture of the Holy Spirit.
John 7:37-38
We all have a longing for relief from the hurt that sin has brought into this world, a longing for personal conflict to come to an end, and a plea for a peaceful night's rest. We have a guilt-ridden heart that asks if God will really forgive me again. The streams of living water symbolizes the Holy Spirit ready to quench your desert-dry soul. Allow our trials to drive us to his Word.

Blessed: Shaped to Display God's Glory

Day Sixteen:


Isaiah 64:8
Like vases we bear marks of life's hard knocks. God will fill us with his beauty so others will see his wonderful grace toward them. We have been molded and shaped by God's hand. Just like a vase has been shaped by hand. We have been touched by God's hand, by the Potter's hand.
What is your purpose?
Our true purpose is to display the glorious bouquet of God's blessings. Our lives have eternal significance. You will affect generations to come by displaying God's love to those around you.

Blessed: Faith

Day Fifteen:


Hebrews 11:1
Fir is added to the bouquet. Faith is represented by fir. It fills all the other empty spaces. Faith flows from God as a gift to us. Faith takes us beyond this earth. Cultivate faith by spending time in his Word and in prayer. Established faith makes perseverance possible. Like how a pine tree can stay green all winter long. Our faith is never alone. Faith and works of love go together. Faith propels us to action. Share your faith with those around you.

1 John 4:19
John 15:12
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Job 10:8

Blessed: Love

Day Fourteen:


1 John 4:19
We need something to cover the flaws in our bouquet. Love is what covers the flaws. Ivy twists and circles and each leaf shines. Ivy of love works wonders in our lives as it twisted and weaves through everything. Love has been around FOREVER. Perfect love and life is what saves imperfect humans-we all are imperfect humans. God's love for us is what saves us. We are compelled to pass on Christ's love and share it with others once we have been introduced to it. Jesus continuously pushes how much we need leaves of love in our lives. Faith shows itself through love. Respond to negative actions from others with love. Showering them with kindness and love. Love heals by covering up other's sins. Love becomes a bridge to one another. Knowing God loves us means we can love others through all the bad things that have happened. There are people that have hurt me in the past that I need to love and forgive. Through loving comes forgiveness and vice verse. Love refuses to criticize or condemn. It simply encircles a hurting heart.
1 Corinthians 13
Love will never end. Love is the language of Heaven.

Blessed: Joy

Day Thirteen:


Romans 15:13

Palm fronds symbolize joy. This may be to remind us of Palm Sunday, and the joyous day that is. Our joy remains strong (like fronds) because it's connected to Jesus and his love for us. We are released from the shame and fears sin brings into every life. We have received unconditional forgiveness and peace with God forever. You can't easily hide joy.
Allow for God to plant deep roots of joy to grow and be able to destroy troubles and challenges we will face. Our joy is heaven-focused.

Wow, I loved this one. Joy. So amazing. Honestly, look at a Christian and tell me you don't see joy in their life. The best part of meeting others is to see the joy just emanating off of their bodies. You can still be sad and unhappy, but you will never lose that joy. You will just be joyously upset. We won't lose the joy, because its not of this world.

Blessed: Patience

Day Twelve:


James 5:7
I will say, the first that comes to mind when I hear patience is the little song from the Music Machine that says "Have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry. when you get impatient you only start to worry. remember remember that God is patient to, think of all the times when others have to wait for you." Such a great song. and brings back many memories. I also think of the joke with friends that we don't ask for others to pray for patience, because we will for sure get it.
Irises send more shoots the more you try to destroy them. They have patience and show patience well with quiet, unobtrusive virtue. God is patient ALL the time.
1 Timothy 1:16
We need patience. Without it our friendships will be destroyed and not last. God doesn't operate on our time schedule. He sends trials to lead us to Him. Trust God and we will receive the iris leaves of patience and it will continuously grow. There is a special reason to be patient: God will take us home to live with Hi.

Blessed: Forgiveness

Day Eleven:


Romans 15:13
Ephesians 3:19
Philippians 1:9
Psalm 103:2-4
Colossians 3:13

When making a bouquet we choose the greenery carefully to see how it accents the flowers. God adds the greenery in our lives. He weaves in spiritual qualities uniquely for us.
Yarrow is a feathery leaved, yellowy flowered plant that has been used for healing for hundreds of years. Yarrow stops bleeding at the touch, just like forgiveness starts bleeding of brokenness and hate.
Jesus has forgiven us repeatedly. We need to follow his example and let go of the bitterness.
Forgiveness can't be earned, but received as a gift of love. There is peace in forgiving.

Blessed: A Bouquet of Provision

Day Ten:


Matthew 6:28  This devotional starts with the question "Why worry?" Why do we worry? Honestly, why? I mean, we know God will take care of it as long as we bring it to him and lay it all down at his feet. So, why do we worry? We will be taken care of based on God's love for us.

As I read this devotional there was a story of a little girl who loved to dance and her mother barely was able to pay for her dance lessons, and yet she was able to. So, when a recital came around and they couldn't afford the custom made outfits, they prayed to God and a family friend provided a leotard that was dyed to be the necessary color and sequined it to look like the others costumes. So, through prayer their worries were taken care of. And they finished by thanking God for answering their prayer.

Wow, what an amazing story. Through prayer God heard a desire and met it providing for a family.

Matthew 6:28-33

Blessed: A Bouquet of Precious Memories

Day Nine:


Isaiah 40:8
Special occasions are more memorable because of having flowers.

• brides choose the perfect floral combinations for their wedding.
• College Students send their sweetheart  flowers on Valentine's Day
• Floats in the Rose Parade on New Years Day.
• Newly weds after their first spat.
• Funerals: rejoicing that they are going to Heaven, but grieving the lost.
• Flowers for ailing friends in hospitals.

God uses the few years we have on earth to bless us daily by allowing us to invite him into our lives.

Blessed: A Bouquet of Praise

Day Eight:


Psalm 84:1-2
Thank God for his creativity that shapes our worship and evokes our praise.
2 Corinthians 2:14
The knowledge of God is a fragrance. Christian artist's work blesses us. All of it is sacred.
God gives music to lighten the day, he gives paintings and plays to send our spirits soaring and provoke thought, he gives sculptures to brighten our homes and he gives books to uplift our hearts.

Blessed: A Bouquet of Benefits

Day Seven:


Psalm 103:1-2
"In the Garden" by C. Austin Miles envisioned roses. Roses have many different meanings.
Red Roses: love-fruit of the Spirit. We are blessed with faithful pastors and are reminded weekly of the love from God that He gave to the pastors to share with us.
Pink Roses: grace and elegance. Friends use hospitality and warmth and beauty to love on us.
White Roses: purity, honor, and reverence. Intercessors in the church take needs to God with humility and faithfulness. They are our prayer warriors and will pray for what we need.
Orange Roses: communicating enthusiasm. Youth workers need to have the most enthusiasm while dealing with the youth of the community.

Blessed: A Bouquet of Friends

Day Six:


Proverbs 17:17
All people have been placed in your life for a reason. Balance, vibrancy, focus, simplicity. Each person can characterize a flower in your friendships.
The Rose: Is tightly closed to start off and slowly opens up. So, the friend is difficult to get to know, but worth taking the time to get to know them.
The Lily or Lily of the Valley: This friend is in a place of growth and suffering. Continuously encourage the lily.
Romans 5:3-5
The Forget-Me-Not: Clusters of friends and family that have passed away or moved away. The absence of this friend leaves you feeling blue and through the absence the relationship remains intact.

Blessed: Expressing Christ's Love

Day Five:


Ephesians 4:7,12 Bouquets touch hearts, they express love to one another. I am God's masterpiece, I am someones bouquet God has given to those around me. I am used to bless others. God plucks out threatening weeds. God forgives and sustains us.
Galatians 5:13
Philippians 1:6
1 Corinthians 10:31; 11:1
Song of Songs 2:12

Blessed: Tenderly Nourished

Day Four:

Matthew 6:33-34
Tend the garden continuously. Garden work is never finished. God continuously puts effort and work into us. Deep watering is necessary for gardens to survive.
Weeds vary from shallow roots to deep roots: from small sins to large sins. God digs deep to destroy the roots, He uproots them, though it brings pain, it also brings forgiveness.

Are there weeds in the garden of your life that threaten to overwhelm you? Are troubles threatening to choke you? Are they stealin your sense of balance and peace? Are you in need of richer spiritual nutrients?

God uses His Word to show and locate sin. We need to receive it with humility and faith.

This also goes with one of the topics at Bible Study I went to tonight. We talked about Ephesians 5 and how the part that gets soo over looked is the part that says don't let fowl language come out of your mouths, don't speak dirty jokes. This can also mean don't think them. wow...we need to receive this sin with humility and faith. Faith that God will help us work through it and fix it. It also talked about exposing evil doings, not only in ourselves, but in those around us. Let's be accountable for one another and be honest about the sins. Some may not even know they are doing it until someone tells them.

Blessed: Balanced & Blooming

Day Three:


Hebrews 10:23-24 
The end result will be visible to everyone.
Gardeners imagine the look of the garden before planting and organize plants based on location.
Choosing what to plant is equal to choosing friends. Friendships fit together to create an artful masterpiece.
Which friends provide balance and helps you thrive? Who complements you and supports you? Who listens, cares and protects you?
Who attracts pests and spiritual diseases stunting growth? 
Hebrews 10:23-24

Blessed: Preparing to Plant

Day Two:

Ephesians 3:17-18
God prepared the soil on which I've been planted.
Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-2, Luke 8:4-8
What might be preventing the seed of God's Word from fully taking root in you?
Ephesians 3:18
The gardener is in charge of preparing the soil.
John 7:37-39
We have been forgiven for our sins. Our sins can be symbolized as rocks and weeds where God removes the rocks and weeds repeatedly show his forgiveness for our sins.
Mercies are new every morning.

Blessed: A Choice Location

Day One:

Psalm 139:14
"Bloom where you are planted" (unknown author). The question that came to mind was this: Can you be planted in the wrong location?
God plants us in places that are close to home while he also chooses what plants work together and work in certain places.
God created Eden with all of us in mind. He thought of what mix of talents and gifts would make each one of us bloom uniquely.
God knew the work it would take to grow his flowers.
I am a flower in God's garden.
God planted me where I am needed today.

Introduction

This blog has been designed so that I can share my devotions that I do daily. I do not do my own, I take them from different books that I find. The first of the books I will be doing is called Bouquet of Blessings by Carol Albrecht, Tammy Endres, Gail Marsh, Pat Mitchell, Jane Wilke.  I do not want anyone to think that I am plagiarizing, so I will try to quote parts from the book. This is what I will be focusing my first 25 blogs on. I hope that you take out what I have tried to take out of these devotions. Thanks for following.