Blessed to See Another Sunday Morning

How awesome our God is, and I am grateful to be able to tell anyone who will listen about His lovingkindness, justice, and His righteousness. Earth, wind, water, and fire are the elements of my world, and He controls them! Yet, He, in all of His meticulous care, has had the number of hairs on my head numbered. In all of His great power, He has taken the time to care for me as a momma does for her children. He has actually counted the number of hairs on my head, counted then, y'all! That tells me that if He went to that length to know all about me, He cares and He has made a long-term investment in me. That means that He is in control and is going noplace. He loves me and will not abandon me. What an assurance. What a God!  What a mighty God we serve! These are the things that I had listed on yesterday's blog to be covered today on the topic of being grateful:

1. The earth – He moves it at His will. As I make my sojourn through this world, I walk upon the earth. And I serve a God who can move it at will. If He wants to move a mountain, He says so, and the mountain will move. If He wants the earth to move and shake, He tells it to, and it does His bidding. Yet, He is mindful of me. So, when the earth starts rocking and shuddering and pitching in my life, I remember that I am anchored to the God Who controls it all. And then peace stills into my soul, and I step on. That is why I am so grateful.


2. The wind – He tells it to escalate or be still at His will. You remember Jonah don't you? He told the wind, water, and lightning to rage until the raging got Jonah's attention. You can read chapter 1 in the book of Jonah for the rest of the story. The point I was making is that He can escalate storms at will. And then I think about how He stilled the storm on the sea of Galilee when He saw that the fierceness of the storm was frightening His disciples, His children. And I am grateful some more because that reminds me that all I have to do is ask, trust and obey Him and He will still my storms when I have learned whatever lesson I needed to learn from it or them. I'm grateful, y'all. He cares. That is why you might see an adult like me, do a little hop and a skip every now and then. Hopping and skipping for what, just the joy of my head hairs being numbered by the Omnipotent One! It takes me back to one of my favorite scriptures, "If God is for you, who or what can be against you?" (Romans 8:31, KJV)


3. The water – He produces it whenever He wants to and has it doing His bidding according to His great will. We all know what He did with water at the Red Sea. (Exodus 14-15, KJV) And He has set a limit on it as to how much land it can cover. (Job 38:11, KJV) He has told the sea, you come this far and no further because this land houses my children. He produced water from a rock when He saw His children's thirst. (Exodus 17, KJV)  Has a woman's body to cradle a baby in a sack of water for nine months. It's like He told the water, "You hold the baby and cushion its ride until it is time for it to be born and then you help to usher the baby forth." He changed it into wine at one point in the Bible (John2:1-11, KJV) and into blood at another point. (Exodus 7:14-25, KJV) My body is 70% water just as this earth is 70% water and both were made by Him. So, I am grateful to know that He knows every little thing that could go awry with this body of mine, after all, He is the Artisan, Who fashioned it. Dare I say it again? And He loves me, y'all, even me!


4. Fire – tells it when to burn and when not to.  When the Hebrew boys were thrown into the fire, He told the fire not to even singe the hairs on their heads, and He told the smoke not to even touch their garments. (Daniel 3, KJV) At another time, He commanded a chariot of fire to come to earth and pick up one of His servants. Elijah and the chariot of fire went on home to glory in a whirlwind. (2 Kings 2:11, KJV)  At another time, He sent fire from heaven to lap up water and the altar! (1 Kings 18:38, KJV) And this God loves me?! Yes, I am grateful!


5. The promise that if I live according to what He has had recorded in the Bible, I get to go back home to that paradise that we would have still been in if sin had not separated us from Him.  You see, when He made man, God placed him in a special place. He was placed in a jewel of a place. A garden with trees that bore all type of products. All we had to do was obey the rules that He had set forth for His garden. That' all! But, then sin entered the picture.  But get this. His love for man was so great that He took man out of the garden and set up flaming swords to guard the way (Genesis 3:24, KJV), to keep man from getting into harm's way again. I think this is like a momma putting her child in a playpen to keep him or her safe while she prepares dinner. Eden is real, y'all and I am grateful that if I live according to His will, I get to go to a placed prepared for me. It will be a place where I will not worry about the cares of this old world because all of that will be over with. Just think a place so wonderful that "It has not entered into my heart, the joys that He has prepared for me because I love Him!" (1 Cor. 2:9, KJV)  Yes, I am grateful for His promise of a home with Him forever! I'm going home one day, y'all. Don't you want to go?

I hope that this treatise on gratefulness has brightened your day and that you remember Whose child you are and that you go to worship this morning and give Him praise.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Am Grateful Enough to Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

This Too

Locked myself out of the house for five hours yesterday.  I lost several hours of writing time and so as to not be outdone, I used that time to meditate, study, and do some mental prepping for my book signing for today. The last of the session on gratitude will be finished this evening when I return home from the signing.  I will let you know how it went.

It is a rainy day here in West Tennessee but we are alive to see it and feel it. And I'm grateful, you know?

(to be continued this evening...)

Alright, I am back. Got back later than I thought and had several issues to crop up. Such is life.

At any rate, I was to finish the series on gratitude this evening, and so I shall.

Here are the things that I had decided that I wanted to include on my grateful list. As I told you on yesterday, this is by no means my entire list of things that I am grateful for. This is a list dictated by expediency.

I am grateful for the Bible and its stories that entail the Lord's track record to include His dominion over

1. earth - moves it at His will


2. wind - tells it to escalate or be still Jonah and storm on Sea of Galilee


3. water - produced it whenever He wants to and has it doing His bidding according to His great will


4. fire - tells it when to burn and when not to


5. the promise that if I live according to what He has had recorded in the Bible, I get to go back home to that paradise that we would have still been in if sin had not separated us from Him. Eden is real eyes have not seen has not entered into the hearts of man...

That is all I had planned to put on my Saturday's list of why I am grateful to the Lord. On tomorrow morning I will expound upon the five things mentioned above in some detail.

Be blessed and remember that God loves you and I do, too.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

Concerning the book signing held at the Graves County Public Library - Had a fantastic crowd and was blessed with several sales. God is good, y'all!

 

God's Breath

"Gesundheit!" That is a German word that is usually said in response to someone who sneezes. However, some people say, "Bless you." At any rate, the intent is to wish good health on the sneezing person.

Nice enough sentiment, don't you think? Uh-hmm, but wait a minute. Let's analyze that practice of saying, "God bless you." Take a look at the following scripture:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7, KJV)

So, that scripture means that "We are walking around in God's image with God's breath in us." (Bro. Brooks) Do you realize what that means?! It means that whatever we do in this life, we are using God's breath to do it. It means that He cherished us enough to shape us in His image and then to breathe life into us. Whoa! That is a big thing to consider! We are walking around with God's breath in us! I never quite thought about it in this manner until a preacher mentioned it this past weekend. Don't you get it, folks, we are already blessed, and it is with inexpressible gratitude that I acknowledge the fact of the blessing! I won't be so quick to complain anymore or be disgruntled with my life. I will, with humbleness, remember Whose breath I am using to complain. Wow, y'all. Just wow!

Gift of My Momma

When I think about my life and what else I am grateful for, I think about my "Momma." (I know that momma in this sentence should not be capitalized according to grammarians, that is. But we are talking about my Momma, and I will capitalize it anytime I please because no rule can compare to the blessing of a woman that the Lord God gave me to. No rule!) Her name was Lula Mae Peters Carr, and I carry the spitting image of her likeness on the outside and her morals and values on the inside. She was a blessing to me, and she still is, though she walks the other shore now.

You see, when I, as a teacher saw some children that came from homes where no values and morals were taught, I realized how blessed I had been in my upbringing. That is when I placed my Momma up on a pedestal in my mind where she belonged. She and I had become best friends and often talked about various things. I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to tell her what a blessing she was to me and to explain in detail, how.

You would have to have known her to realize how extraordinary it was that she had been rendered speechless by my profuse compliments to her. We had a good old laugh about the fact that I had rendered her speechless. She went on to tell me about a couple of other times in my life that I had rendered her speechless, but that is a story for another day. (sweet memory)

Gift of My Singing

I had always wanted to sing but couldn't; in fact, a bullfrog could out sing me. Several old people told me to keep trying and that I would be a singer one day. I laughed at that. I figured, "You either have a voice, or you don't!"

Ha, little did I know. Now, I am not the greatest singer in the world, but people seem to gravitate to my singing, and for that, I am thankful. I sing when I am bothered or unhappy and feel better after a couple of songs. It's the way the Lord has made us. (I talk about this in my current manuscript that is soon to be published, Tallest Mountain In My World.)

I also sing when I am happy. It is unusual to be around me for long and not hear me singing or humming something. I admit I sing softly to myself or hum in the grocery store, when I am window shopping, etc. It seems to make people feel nice. So, that is fine by me. I figure that is another way I can say, "I'm grateful," to the Lord.

Gift of My Speaking (Teaching Skills)

Just as when I sing, when I speak, people seem to gravitate toward me to hear what I am saying. So, I was drafted into being a public speaker. I was petrified. It might not seem so now, but when I was a child, I was very quiet and afraid to speak in front of a group. I was a mousy introvert who kept her mouth closed and her big eyes and ears open.

I have since learned that the Lord God was training me, even then. So, I do public speaking of a motivational, inspirational, devotional type. I keep being asked, so I guess that means that I do a good job. There again, I am grateful to the Lord God for giving me the gift of public speaking and teaching.

As for my teaching, I was named Who's Who Among America's Educators the last 15 years of my teaching career. (This list included colleges, as well.) But that is a story for another day.

Length of My Life

I have been blessed to live for several decades and for that I am grateful. I try to keep Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care.

This blog posting is quite lengthy today, but I hope that it blesses those that it needs to bless.

Until tomorrow, if the Lord wills.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

On tomorrow, I will finish my sessions of having an attitude of gratitude, not because this is all that I am grateful for, but because of expediency. I could write an entire book about being grateful!

 

An Attitude of Gratitude

It is so easy to become obsessed with things that do not go as we would like for them to in this life. But what the myriad of things that do? Do we take them so much for granted that we overlook being grateful for them? That is easier to do than you think.

Case in Point:

I started writing in a journal well over twelve years ago. When I started writing, I had no idea that my journaling would end up with me doing a daily blog and subsequently several books! I just had no idea. But, God did! He knew of my love to help my fellowman, so He got me ready to do a daily blog and to write several books by starting me on journaling.

So

I am thankful for my journaling and my writing. But, most of all, I am grateful to God for His love and His equipping me for this writing journey. I am grateful for the myriad of thoughts that He keeps me fed with.

I made a list of 21 things that I am grateful for. I gave you four of them in the paragraph above. Those were my number one, seven, nine, and my number 16 things to be grateful for. Yes, you are correct in guessing that God was my number One.

Now

What would your list look like? You might be surprised when you make it. You will find, too, that when you list things that you are grateful for that you will think about the reasons that you are grateful for them. When you think about those reasons that you are grateful, you will be even more grateful for them. Being even more grateful, you will dwell on your blessings that you have in hand and not on what you want, want, want. I mean; let's face it; for most of us, there is always something to want.

Gratefulness is what we should be mostly about and not what we want. Now, don't get me wrong, I am grateful. I have just decided to take it to another level because doing so gets me closer to my God.

Enjoy your day, and we will discuss being grateful some more on tomorrow's blog if it is the Lord's will.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

NOTE

Will be part of a book signing with the Ken-Ten Writers at the Graves County Library in Mayfield, Kentucky, this Saturday, April 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

 

Persistence Pays Off

Worked on and off all day trying to get logged in to my site, and finally made it through. That just goes to show you that persistence in most things in life does pay off.

Working things out in a Christian way pays off if you are persistent, as well. It takes prayer and patience.

 Don't Forget

Remember that sometimes you are allowed to

Struggle so that nonbelievers can see your faith and

Wonder about it and want to belong to the Lord, too

Because they see what being patient and waiting on Him has done for you.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

Lessons from a Fish's Belly

Sometimes things don't go the way we want them to in life

And we have to deal with more than our share of stress and strife

In fact, the load can become so heavy that we feel it is unfair

All of the stress, strife and the network of enemies that we bear.

 

That is when we do things that often get us cast into the belly of the whale

And everything we do to get out, comes to no avail

Then we remember to Whom we are supposed to belong

And begin to make our confessions and appeal to Almighty God, Who is strong.

 

We acknowledge just like Jonah of the Bible did

That God is God and that we will do as bid

And when the whale vomits us up on dry land

We give thanks because we can breathe again.

 

We set about carrying out the will of the Lord

With the greatest fervor that we have ever displayed

Caring not what mankind says in the way of ridicule or disdain

For we are determined never to enter the whale's belly again

And through the seaweed of his innards to have to wade.

 

So, always work hard and by God's law abide

And you won't have to in the belly of a whale take a ride.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

Gratitude to God Through You

Blogging most every day to show my gratitude to God by inspiring and encouraging you. You see Isaiah 50:4 lets me know to encourage my fellowman because that is something that the Lord desires. Why, because His love for you and me is that great-

1. great enough to send His son to die for us so that we could be brought back to Him


2. great enough to give us the Bible as a guidebook so that we can learn and know how to stay close to Him


3. great enough to have vessels like me pouring out His love for mankind any chance we get, hence, in my case, my blog, my speaking engagements, my singing, my listening sessions, and my books.

I am eternally grateful for His love for me, and I will work at doing my job of serving Him bu encouraging you until time meets eternity for me.

For Your Love

Bound to this earth plane, while I show my

Gratitude by doing and saying inspiring things to you

I can but send my, "Thank You," through prayer

But one day when my numbered days are o'er

I will get to say, "Thank You," to my Father up there.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

Not Because I'm the Best

Not because I am the best speaker

That has ever spoken a word

And not because I am the best songbird

That you have ever heard

Not because I am the best writer

That has ever penned a book

But because He is the best and

My sins on Himself He took.

There is something that you will see

When you take a good look at me

You will see a nobody

That puzzles you a bit

Because you cannot figure out how I

Manage to do several things well

And seem never to tire and never quit.

I will tell you, folks; you see me do what I do

Because I am working for a crown

And that is why you will see and hear

Me encouraging others whenever I am around

-encouraging them right along

Either thru speech or the words of a song.

And that is why I will be singing snippets of two songs on tomorrow afternoon at the Songfest that is being held at Old Fulton Rd. Church of Christ, Martin, TN. (See flyer on yesterday's blog or my Facebook page.)

I realize that the faith that I display might help someone to embrace the Lord or another one to remain strong. So come on out and be lifted up in song as we tell our respective stories of our love for and our trust in the Lord. It promises to be a treat.

Somebody said, "What! Mrs. Alma, you mean that you sing?" To which I replied, "He didn't say that I had to be the best, He just requires my best. And that, I freely give."

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

A Song Story

Yes! It is that time again. The time for the Old Fulton Road Songfest. See the flyer below.



Come out and be spiritually inspired by these singers stories in song. It promises to be a treat.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

The HaveKnow's and the NeedyWho's

There are people who are changeable, according to your circumstances in life. Life will teach you that there are two basic types of friends,

1.) those that know you no matter what you have or don't have

2.) and those who know you when you have and forget your name and existence when you don't (fair weather friends - the haveknow's and the needywho's).

When you do find a true friend, who loves you in spite of yourself, hold on to them. They are rare but will stand the test of time for and with you,

But

What I have described above is friends according to man's standards. But I have a friend, Who sticks closer than a brother, my mother, father, cousin, etc. His name? Jesus.  He is the truest Friend that I have, and I know that He will never leave me, no matter what.

You see, time and circumstance may cause some of the others to leave you, but not Jesus. Time has no holds on Him. Remember, yesterday that I told you that He controls time, not the other way around. And as far as circumstances go, He can orchestrate them according to His will.

And

This being, this God has decided to love you and me. I am never going to give Him up, are you? No, we are not. We are sticking to Him like glue and will be stuck when our living is through because that's what it is all about folks. Living for the Lord and being His witness no matter what life throws at us is what we are called to do. And one day, one day, storms will cease. And we will sing hallelujah by and by. And you know, folks it will have all been worth it. Every tear, every heartache, every soul-wrenching inconvenience, every everything will have brought us closer to our Lord, and we will dwell with Him in our new home in the sky.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

 

 

 

A Man for All Times

I know a man Who transcends time, in fact, created it and keeps it on a leash, tells it when to come, when to go, when to pause and when to stop. Because He created it, He is the Master of it and as Such can always appear in the fullness of it! (at just the right time)

If there are troubling times in your life, be comforted. They will not always last, for we are told in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 that there are times for various happenings in our lives.In James 1:12 we are told to "Remain steadfast under trial because we will receive a crown of life if we faint not."

Don't ever give up

Even when you oft have to

Drink from the bitter cup.

The greater the suffering the

Greater the blessing

So, from these wise words

Take a lesson.

Surround yourself with saints

And know that in the fullness of time

Jesus will be right there

Because He does care

And has shown us that by taking the

Time to count our every head hair.

Today's blog is my testimony about how sweet it is to be loved and rescued by the loving Jesus Who moves in His own good time, just at the right time. Be blessed, positive, and walk with a lighter step today. (There are more of my testimonies in Choppin My Row, pp. 15-22 and 78-84, and 91-96.) In fact, the entire book is a testimony about God's love for us. There are also testimonies in W.O.W. created w.o.w., pp. 15-17, 34-39, 72-78, 94-96.  Actually, W.O.W. created w.o.w. led me to write Chopping My Row and Chopping My Row has led me to write The Tallest Mountain in My World (to be published this summer) and that one has led me to write My Shepherd to be published in the late fall.

The books mentioned above are on Amazon or perhaps you can get your local library to get them so that you can check them out. Both books will be a blessing to you; of that, I can assure you.

 

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

Doing My Job

I have a job to do, and periodically it behooves me to share with others why I do what I do, why I feel driven to persist in talking to you. I never know why I write what I write on a given day; I just write what my muse places on my heart, and I know that there is someone out there in this vast world who is helped by the words of inspiration that I pen. Everything that I do in this life of mine is geared toward, "Chopping My Row" for the Lord. Having said that, here is a poem that I penned for you today. Enjoy!

No matter what you see when you look at me

I am what God made me to be

I do what He sent me to do

As I live my life here below

And I will leave a legacy of inspirational words for you

When I am called back to my home above

-A legacy of words reminding you of God's love.

I shared His love with you as a teacher

Shared His love with you as the wife of a preacher

Shared His love as a speaker of ladies' day events

Shared His love wherever I was sent

Will be active in sharing until my sharing days are spent.

(So You)

Share to make a difference in somebody's down hour

Because you never know when one well-placed word

Can make the difference between despair and persistence

Causing someone to shine for Jesus by opening up like a flower

And show the world the awesome results of God's caring power

By not folding in upon himself/herself, but remaining dejection resistant.

(Say Again)

Tell your story, sweetie, and tell it loud and long

For the telling of your story may be the catalyst (tool) that

Causes someone to persevere and be strong!

 

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones

Can't Keep a Good Man Down

Who is Jesus? Do you know? He is God's Son Who gave His life for you. Did you know that He could never have been taken down but for it having been God's will in the first place? And He could not be kept down! Boulders could not hold Him, and guards could not stop Him. And get this; the name that the magistrates wanted to be spoken no more has become a household word, having traveled throughout the then known world and on down through the annals of time to you and me. But it won't stop there! The Bible says that "At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow!"  Where, at the judgment, that's where! What a Savior; what a mighty God!

Why was Jesus allowed to be put down? It was done for the love of you and me. He became a willing sacrifice just so that He could bring us back to God!

So, get up this Easter morning and go back to what your mother and grandmother taught you and give God some praise in worship this Sunday morning!

And allow me to make this point to you. If you are in the midst of a fall or have fallen, don't despair! Say what?! Yes, I said, Don't despair!" If you are God's child, He saw you about to fall, saw you when you fell and sees you and your reaction to your fall. But hear me, my friend this Sunday morning, just as He got Jesus back up, He will do the same for you. BUT, you must keep your faith in Him. All it takes is a mustard seed amount, sweetie, that's all.

When you keep that faith intact, your blessings will start to flow again, and you will be proud and glad to lighten someone's burden by sharing your story! How do I know? I know because I share the message of His faithful love each time I pick up my pen to do my blog.

Have I been down? Yes, I have, but  I kept believing, and I kept praying, and you are looking at the result now! I have published five books successfully and am working on the sixth now, which is the second book of the Chopping My Row Series and will be entitled, From the Tallest Mountain in My World.

And You

So whatever has happened to upset your world or has orchestrated your fall, don't worry. It could not have happened without the Lord knowing about it, and just like He did His other Son, Jesus, He will lift you up again in His time. Other Son? That got your attention, did it? Well, yes, you are His son just like Jesus is. Yep! Read Romans 8:14-17, 29 KJV and rejoice in the love that the Lord God and Jesus have for you. Oh, so you feel special, huh? Good! That was my intent. See you in worship. It does not matter if you are broken and battered; be there in all of your brokenness. He's waiting. God loves you, and I do, too. Be blessed!

Rise up and stand tall in your faith and your work for the Lord, for God will see you through!

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones