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Inspirational Gems for Each Day -- VOLUME 11.

           Written by Marilee Miller

Copyright (c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller.

PLEASE READ THIS!

Copies may be given privately to about six friends, providing that text is not changed, and
that this full notice accompanies each document or part thereof.
One GEM or parts of two, per Volume, allowed for a public review or article, under the fair use clause.
No other public circulation, no mass copying or commercial or for-profit use without consent
of the author -- e-mail to: kingfisher crossing at gmail com (close up the spaces, etc.).

See the complete archive of 365 thoughtful Christian devotionals -- Gems -- at:
www.wordforlife.com/kingfisher/gems-complete/gems-menu

Scripture texts are from the King James Version.

1. PRAISE

A whiff of glory cloud
Traces across the evening sky;
A troupe of swallows
Chases exuberantly by;
God is in the cloud and wing --
He who teaches my heart to sing.
Praise, oh, praise God for everything!

            "My heart is fixed, O God, my
heart is fixed: I will sing and give
praise."    (Ps. 57:7)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

2. ABLE TO LIVE WITH MYSELF

I want to be able to live with myself,
Even when others do not see what I do.
I want to be at peace with myself,
When the world around me seems liable to
explode.
I want to be whole, and not divided into
pieces --
And walk tall so that I can accept myself
without shame, rebellion, or unforgiven
parts.
To do this, I must have God at the center
of my life.
Oh, God, help me to be the "self" you
want me to be.

            "...Every kingdom divided against
itself is brought to desolation; and a
house divided against a house falleth."
          (Luke 11:17)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

3. GOD BRINGS PEACE

I thought when I awoke this morn
I'd lost my foundations in the Lord,
That everything I cherished was lost:
Rent asunder by bad-dreams'-sword.
But I cried out my deepest need,
And God heard every word I said;
He somehow brushed away the fears,
Gifting me with his peace, instead!

            "For he [God] saith, I have
heard thee in a time accepted, and
       in the day of salvation have I
       succoured thee: behold, now is the
       accepted time; behold, now is the
       day of salvation." (II Cor. 6:2)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

4. SOUNDS OF AN AUTUMN DAY

Riffles of the river current are
reassuringly sussurent,
bidding me to hush, to be still before God
and rapture's water-sound;
Even as I, enrapt, stand amidst a "rainfall"
    of extra-rare autumn leaves plopping,
        with eerily hushurent rustle,
onto the pile of crisp, brown dead leaves
       littering the somnolent ground.

            "But when I [the Lord] speak
       with thee, I will open thy mouth,
       and thou shalt say unto them, Thus
       saith the Lord God: He that heareth,
let him hear [God's true word]..."
(Ezek. 3:27)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

5. HOLD MY HAND

Hold my hand tight, God.
The way is dark, unclear;
I feel as if I've lost my course,
Robbed of all things dear.
Hold my hand tight, Lord,
Until your voice I hear;
I need not see the steps ahead
When my hand you hold this near!

            "...Come in, thou blessed of
       the Lord; wherefore standest thou
       without? for I have prepared the
       house, and room for [your
       possessions]."   (Gen. 24:31)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

6. EXTRA-BLOOMERS

     The daphne is a spring-blooming
shrub. But, lulled by unseasonably warm
weather, one cluster of daphne blossoms
came out in November. Other little
dabbles of bright pink showed more buds
on the way. Thus, we who saw the brave,
thrifty flowering, reaped the blessings of
an extra blooming season.

     May our lives, warmed by Christ's
presence, and by the thoughtfulness of a
loving Heavenly Father, give us the urge
to put out extra flowers of joy, loving-
kindness, or courtesy. Through God's
grace, may we be, not content to bloom
merely once, but to become those
extra-bloomers for his sake.

            "He [the Lord] shall cause them
that come of Jacob to take root:
Israel shall blossom and bud, and
fill the face of the world with fruit."
(Isa. 27:6)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

7-9. GOD, THE SCULPTOR

     One of my favorite art mediums is
oven-bake clay, which can be squeezed and
molded until the warmth of my hands makes
it pliable. (However, when baked, the
clay sets and is permanently hard.)

     For a certain project, I used one color
of clay for backing, and a different, blended
tone for the front surface. To shape the
artwork, I pulled supple strips of clay into
draping swirls. However, I didn't finish the
project that day. Left at room temperature,
the clay turns brittle; so when I picked up
the work later, some pieces fell apart. I
tried doing some patching. But the parts
just didn't meld together with sturdy
strength.

     I could have warmed the ruined project
in a low-temperature oven, softening the
clay enough for pieces to join well. Instead,
I decided to rework the clay into a different shape.
It was the coloration of the outer face, not the
design of the whole work, which had stirred
my heart the most. But the new art design, as
I conceived it in mind, didn't want the former
backing color. With a knife, I followed the
contours of the swirls I'd previously made,
cutting off the top layer -- the beauty-color --
which I fashioned into a "new thing." I was
more pleased with my new creation than with
my old. So I baked the clay to make a
permanent work of art.

     Probably I would have spent less time
starting with fresh clay, blending the desired
colors all over again. But then what would I
have done with the material in the former
project? Just tossed it out? This way, the clay
became useful, resulting in a beauty-object,
and I wasted nothing, except time -- which to an
artist, is spent as a true labor of love.

     In our lives, God blends the colors, pulls us
into delightful shapes. But if we stray from his
teachings, or if unexpected things happen that
seem to make us into something that's not in his
plan, he patiently prunes out the difficulties,
softens our hearts until we're pliable in him, and
shapes us into his beauty objects, to glorify him.

            "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he
is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold all things are become new.
            "And all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ..."
          (II Cor 5:17-18a)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

10. PRAYER IS

"Prayer" is a simple little word,
About which most of us have heard;
But have we taken time to pray,
To ask God's blessing on each day?
Have we cared for others' needs,
And planted little "Jesus-seeds"?
A lot can happen, day by day,
If we will take the time to pray.

           " ...The prayer of the upright
is his [the Lord's] delight."
          (Prov. 15:8b)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

11. from the Scriptures

     "I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service.
     "And be not conformed to this world;
but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God.
     "For I say, through the grace given
unto me, to every man that is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than
he ought to think: but to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man
the measure of faith."   (Rom. 12:1-3)

12. GOD KNOWS ME

I may never write a book, or live out my
fond dream;
I may not be happy with things as they
"seem";
I may never be someone of whom others can
be proud,
It may even appear to them that this
hindering shroud
Of my earthly limitations makes me mute
lump of clay --
But God isn't through with me, this I say!
So let him keep making me according to his
design,
And I shall yet thank him for his own
self, my sign.

But if I do no visible work for him, let
it be known
That my prayers go forth: I see hurts I'm
"shown";
In my prayer closet, I weep daily with
others' pain,
And though none on earth see, yet God get
all gain!

            "The Lord upholdeth all that fall,
and raiseth up all those that be bowed
down."    (Ps. 145:14)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

13. A MODERN PARAPHRASE

     Much comfort and help comes from a
verse in Isaiah 50:10 -- especially when
one looks into the fullness of original
word-meanings and implications.

     "Do you reverently fear the
Self-Existant, Eternal Lord, and (seek to)
hear intelligently (with intent to obey)
the calling voice of his helping Servant,
God's Messiah?

     "Yet in your walk with God, do you
feel as if you must be wandering in a
place of misery and trouble, where all
light and hope seem to be withheld?

     "Then take heart, absolutely relying
on the mighty and holy Lord for your every
need. Lean on him as your support and
confidence. Rest in God."
   (MM paraphrase)

            "Who is among you that feareth
       the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of
       his servant, that walketh in dark-
       ness and hath no light? let him
       trust in the Lord, and stay upon
       his God."   (Isa. 50:10)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

14. CHOSEN

God has chosen us to belong to him.
He has chosen us to be special,
                 unique persons.
He has chosen us to be his servants,
        helpers, ambassadors.
He has chosen us to be his children.
He loves us, and wants us, at all times.
No matter, if we don't feel very chosen,
             at times:
It is still fact.
No matter, if we don't always act like
   chosen, selected persons.
No matter if we sometimes feel unloved,
              in spite of all.
We are still his.
Because, God has chosen us!
Let us just agree:
        he's already chosen us to be his.
Let us only say, "Yes, Lord. I accept!"
God has chosen us
         to belong to him forever.

            "Even before he created the
world, God chose us for his very
own, because he knew we would
want to come to him through his Son,
      Jesus. So he planned all along that
      when we understood that we were
      especially chosen, we would know he
      looked at us from his heavenly
       perspective, as holy, and upright,
       and without fault -- not out of any
       good in us, but because of his own
       goodness working in us."
          (Eph. 1:4 MM paraphrase)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller

15. WHY?

Why must I suffer so much in life, Lord?
Where are you, in all my pain?
Thank you for purifying all my desire,
         intending for my ultimate gain.
I celebrate life in the midst of pain.
Strengthen and warm me with you, Lord:
For this is my heart's desire.

           "...I will strengthen them in the Lord;
and they shall walk up and down in his
name, saith the Lord."   (Zech.10:12)
(c) 1995 & 2009 by Marilee Miller
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