Well Done

When I was teaching school, I always looked for the stars in my pupils' eyes when they first entered my classroom. I looked for those stars midyear and again at the end of the year. It was always heartwarming to see that despite the rigorous work schedule, the stars remained as bright as ever in the ones who came to me with stars. But along with them, there shone stars in eyes that had previously been jaded or dulled before they came to my class social studies. The eyes that shone with a renewed love for learning are the ones that kept me going year after year.

So

As a Christian, when I can shore up someone's faith and renew hope where hope has died, that is the thing that keeps me going day after day. You see, if I can do that then I know that I will hear my Father say, "Well done." It is the hope of hearing those words that keeps me going day after day. I have a reward that I am working for, folks. It's as simple as that.

Think About It

There is a place that is being prepared for me where the wicked will cease from troubling and the weary shall be at rest.

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

AlmaL. Jones

Christian Poet & Author

My Way

Why

My writing is my way of saying to my Lord, "Thanks for my journey." Deciding to write almost exclusively for the Lord God has made me introspective and has been a profound heart touchingly enlightening experience. There is within me a "fire that rages through my bones," as Jeremiah said.

For You

It is my hope that the stories, lessons, poems, and essays that I have written bring you encouragement, peace, and joy as I praise my God in His glory by telling my story. I further hope that I can ignite in you an answering fire to share with all of humanity the extraordinary love that the Lord God has for us all.
Be blessed as you go forth in your day.

Alma L. Jones
Christian Poet & Author

So Will I

When life gets rough, just keep going because life got rough for Jesus, too. And in the end, though He gave His life, we know that God gave Him victory because He got up from the grave. And now He sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven looking down on you and me.
And as His followers, we will get up victorious, too.

That

The last statement in the paragraph above is important to us. This statement tells us to keep persevering in our purpose and on our journey through this life. And when we get up victorious in the name of Jesus, we have waiting for us a precious reward that our minds cannot conceive. That, folks, is all I need to keep me going. I know that one day God will make all of my problems come out all right in the afterwhile because He already has a plan.

So

Keep telling yourself "All I need to remember is to trust the Lord God, and everything will be all right because in the end, He got up victorious and so will I."

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,
Alma L. Jones
Christian Poet & Author

A Good Return on Investments

Happy Saturday, everybody! Today I thought that I would tickle your ears with how we can give back to the Lord God. I hope that this blog post blesses you as much as it did me to prepare it for you.

You remember last week that I told you about a lady who had recently lost her mother and about how, as she was going through her mother's things, she came upon a book of my poetry? She said the book had been marked on the page where the poem, "Happenstance" was printed. She said that the words of that poem reached out and touched her in a weary place in her soul. Then she thanked me for being the "limb that she was able to grab a hold of." Here is a copy of the poem:

Happenstance

In any new quandary in which

You happen to have been thrown

Look for similarities to past experiences

That you made it through and

By which you have grown.

You will find that fate, though fickle

Will often toss you a limb

That you can grab a hold off

Depending upon your whim.

 

In any new circumstance, always

Learn as much as you can

Because you never know when you

My need to draw upon your past

To tackle new jobs head on and

To perform accompanying tasks.

1 Peter 5

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Contemporary English Version
The LORD God gives me the right words to encourage the weary. Each morning he awakens me eager to learn his teaching;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The Almighty LORD will teach me what to say so I will know how to encourage weary people. Morning after morning he will wake me to listen like a student.

That is what it is all about for me, being an encourager. And though I was the vessel that penned the poem, it was the glory of God shining through me that helped that young lady, you know? He knew that one day I would need to have written the words to that poem to pick that young lady up, so He had me to do it ahead of time. That is the beauty of the way that the Lord God works. And that is what is so phenomenal about His love for us and why I love Him so much. You see, He showed me before I was born that I am of great value to Him because of the price that He paid for me.

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

That is why I keep doing what I do. I have to keep on doing what I do for Him because He has made a great investment in me and I want to make sure that He gets a good return.

If I can make the difference for just one person, then I know that my Father is pleased with the way I use the gift (s) that He gave me. I have listed several scriptures below that talk about the gifts that we have been given.

Matthew 25:15 And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability;…journey.

1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”- Don't waste the gift that you have been given, but use them for the good of yourself and others.

1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Make sure that He is getting a good return on the investment that He made in you.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. Be kind.

Hebrews 10:25 ESV
Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Come together and edify one another with love.

Proverbs 16:24 ESV
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Proverbs 12:25 ESV
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

How about this God that we serve
He made you and me (our Creator)
He saved you and me (Jesus' blood)
He blessed and keeps on blessing you and me (gifts to use in service for Him)
He is preparing an everlasting place of abode for you and me
How blessed we are to be able to serve this Creator of all Humanity!

********

My Point Is

Some of you have probably thought to yourself, "I don't have a gift." To that, I say, "Hogwash!" Everybody has something that they can excel at. Find something that you just love, love to do and do it in the name and honor of the Lord God. If you like to cook, do that, if you like to crochet, do that, if you like to manicure lawns, do that, if you like to smile and greet people, do that, etc.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because He Cares,
Alma L. Jones
Christian Poet & Author

One by One

The great ones are leaving

 One by one

Would that we will have done as much

When our last days are done.

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

Alma L. Jones

Christian Poet & Author

As We Near the End of Summer

When I received my new computer etched Grammyalmascorner.com mug, I was pleased to see that it holds liquids very hot for six hours and keeps ice for 24 hours. Right now, we are glad to have something to keep our drinks cold. But, soon we will be wanting a mug that can keep things hot for us because fall is on its way. That is the way life is, all about seasons and we are reminded of that periodically, by the various things that happen year after year. As I said earlier, fall is approaching in McKenzie where I live and we are experiencing several end of summer signs such as:

The August days being sweltering
The sudden cooling of the temperatures on some end of August nights
Hummingbirds and monarchs seeming to feed almost nonstop in preparation for their nearing trek south, etc.
Squirrels and ants will begin to get busy gathering food for the winter. And we like to make sure that our freezers are well-stocked with vegetables and meat for the fall and winter seasons, too.

When you look at our bodies we can see seasons there as well. There is the baby season, the toddler season, the child season, the preteen season, the teenage season, the young adult season, the middle year season and then the season of old age. Just like certain things happen in the seasons of the year, they do in the seasons of life as well.

It’s all about preparation, y’all. There is a scripture that says, “Be ye also ready...cometh.” (Matthew 24:44, KJV) So, let us get our houses in order, both physical and spiritual.

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

Alma L. Jones

Christian Poet & Author

 

My Work for God

In my work for God
I have to be bold
So, I go where I am sent
And I do what I am told.

I can’t listen to naysayers  because  they told me that:

• I couldn’t go to college because there was no money, but God sent me


• I would never get a regular classroom, but God gave me one with flourish


• I would never write a book, but God gave me five+


• I wasn’t good enough, but God said, “Oh, but you are!”

And now I can tell the world that it’s not up to me to know how. I just have to walk by faith knowing that God will make a way for me. You see, God will move mountains and level valleys for you if you trust Him. I tell you folks that being wrapped up in His love is a wondrous thing!  He loves us, y’all and there is no greater love than that. The following song says it best for me.

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

Alma L. Jones

Christian Poet & Author

 

 

 

 

How Can I Say Thanks

How can I say thanks for all You’ve done? Yesterday, yesterday, yesterday! I set up at the McKenzie Sweet Tea Festival with my books. I can not begin to tell you of the success that I experienced! Rarely am I at a loss for words, but I am right now. I will forever carry in my heart the memory of the outpouring of support that I received. To God be the glory for the things that He has done!

 



The picture above was taken before the festival began for us.

God is good!

Alma L. Jones

Christian Poet & Author

God’s Love

Good early morning to you! I ran across a scripture the other day that made me pause.

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14, ASV)

I did a little reference on it and the poem below is the result.

God’s love surrounds us in ways we

Do not often think about

But His love is with us nonetheless

In the “ministering spirits that be.”

 

I’m thankful for His ministrations

On my behalf and often tell Him so

In fact, I speak my thanks and praise

To all who listen everywhere I go.

********

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

Alma L. Jones

Christian Poet & Author

From the Ground

My having been reared in Memphis, you would think that I know little, if anything, about raising vegetables and you would be correct. But earlier in the late spring, I had my husband to plant some cucumber seeds. I watched the ground throughout the summer and today, I got to sample that fat little cucumber that grew on the vine! It was tender, succulent and tasty. I sprinkled it with a little vinaigrette mixture that I made and I was in farmer’s heaven! That fat little cucumber was grown by my hand, well at my insistence, anyway.

If it is the Lord’s will, I will have cucumbers, green peppers, jalapeños, and peperoncino next year. Well, okay, I might not do that much. Tee hee But I will have some bell peppers, red, yellow and green and onions.

You know what I say, “Thank You for having the ground to produce for me and thank You for giving me the simple joy of growing tiny green cucumbers. Only you can give joy with punishment and a lesson taught. I love You.”

Point to Ponder

1. What do you think is meant by the bold print statement that begins with, “Only?”

Against the Day of Trouble

Good evening. Yesterday I said I would talk a bit on the scripture, Job 38:22. That is the scripture that talks about the storehouses of the Lord that He has in waiting for the day of trouble. When I read about the storehouses of the Lord, I thought about Him doing battle with Pharaoh and some of the other enemies of God’s people, Israel. I remember the scripture where the Egyptians said, (paraphrasing here) “Let us run because the Lord is fighting for Israel. That is the passage where the Egyptians were down in the sea bed and the wheels came off of their chariots. There was to be no escape that day.

And I remember how the word went around the other enemies of God’s people and the enemies were afraid to bother them. Uh,humm-m, then moving come forward to today, I know that whatever comes up against His people, the Lord is prepared. I remember the storehouses and I get gladdened within my spirit.

So-o, I have determined that when my enemy seems to get the best of me, it is only because there is a lesson in it for me. Then I think like the Hebrew boys, “If the Lord doesn’t deliver me, it’s not because He can’t.”  I remember the storehouses that my Father has and I step on. You see, I know that my redeemer liveth and that He cares for me. 1 Peter 3:12 & Job 19:25. 

My Point

I am spiritual Israel.

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

Alma L. Jones

Christian Poet & Author

To Think About

1. What is meant by the sentence under, "My Point?"

The Home of the Wind

I was sitting at my kitchen table after having just finished dinner and I turned my head absentmindedly to gaze at the late afternoon sky. A shrub just outside my window began to gently wave in the breeze and that gentle waving broke my reflections about places here and there. And made me think of the source of the breeze and a scripture came to mind. Which scripture? The scripture that came to mind is the one where, "...the wind in His treasuries,” is mentioned. Psalm 135:7 There is another scripture that alludes to the treasuries or storehouses of the Lord. (Job 38:22)

I think that we will talk about that scripture a bit more on tomorrow, but for today, it is enough for me to know that the gentle breeze that captured my attention has its home in heaven. It made the journey just to say a sweet, "Hello," is the way that I like to take my active writer's imagination and view it. One thing about it, no matter how you view the situation, it came from heaven to visit me during a moment of quiet reverie.

Just Think About It

The God that we serve keeps the wind among His treasuries! The wind, folks, the wind! If He keeps it among His treasuries, then He knows what it looks like. W.o.w., I have never seen the wind, have you? I wonder what it looks like?

Remember that poem that we learned as kids, a portion of which reads:

Who has seen the wind

Neither you nor I

But when the trees bow down their heads

The wind is passing by.

(Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894)

What a mighty God we serve, don't we?!

Oftentimes in awe and wonder,

Alma L. Jones

Christian Poet & Author

Something to Think About

The place where the wind hails from is the place that we may get to call home one day, if we live right. Forever and ever with our Lord, my, my, my...

A Speck of Dust Speaks

Good evening, folks,
This is one of those days that I wanted to say, "Thank You," to the Lord. Do you ever have those times that you just want to acknowledge Him for His love and power? If you do, then you know how I am feeling just about now. I invite you to go with me to His throne for a brief moment.

Father, this little speck of dust wants to thank You and praise You for You. You have been carrying me for a good many years and I thank You. Even when I did not do as I should have, you blessed me anyway and for that I thank You. You love me with a love that is indescribable and for that, I shout to the world about You. I shout so that I have invited some of my blog readers to join me in this prayer of thanksgiving and praise.

I will not make this a prolonged prayer, but I wanted to finish it up by telling You that I am proud to serve You.  Here is a poem to finish my prayer:

Thank You for everything, especially for the

"Care packages " that You have sent to me over the years

That put a new smile on my face and stars back in my eyes

To the extent that they showed through my tears

And to the extent that the tears of pain and sorrow

Became tears of relief and joy as only a care package

Receiver can know.

You are awesome Lord, and I just wanted to tell You so.

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From a speck of dust to the Creator of us all,

Alma L. Jones

Christian Poet & Author