Shirlee Abbott

Gaping Gates

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

We were careless with our garden gate. There was a gap, and a groundhog snuck through in the dark of night. He stripped our tomato plants. Bad groundhog!

Sometimes I am careless with the gates to my soul. There are gaps. Ungodly thoughts sneak through and strip away my fruit of the Spirit. Bad thoughts!

Dear Lord God, may the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Close the gaps in my gates. Amen.

For more on the gates of your soul,
read Lesson 3 in the Foundation Study
Rebuilding the Walls.

Posted in other | Tagged gates, groundhogs, Psalm 119:14 | 2 Comments

11:11

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

Proverbs 11:11 seems appropriate for Veterans Day:

By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted.

To all you upright veterans who have exalted our nation through your service, THANK YOU.

Posted in other | Tagged Proverbs 11:11, Veterans Day | 2 Comments

Gates of Wood from the King’s Forest

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

The gates of Jerusalem were restored with wood from the king’s forest:

Nehemiah 2:7-8 (ESV)
Then I added this to my request: “If it please the king, give me . . . a letter to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber for the beams and for the gates of the fortress near the Temple, and for the city walls.

The gates of your soul are restored with wood from the King of king’s forest–the same wood used for the manger and the cross.

Posted in other | Tagged gates, King's forest, Nehemiah 2:7-8 | 2 Comments

Building Better Gates

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

Do you have a gate?

Keeps the dog and kids out of traffic
Keeps the critters out of the garden
Keeps the creeps out of my community

A wall without a gate is useless.

The wall and gates of Jerusalem were destroyed. Nehemiah rebuilt the wall with rubble from its destruction. The gates were burned. New wood was required.

Nehemiah 2:7-8 (MSG)
Then I said, “If it please the king, provide me with . . . an order to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, to supply me with timber for the beams.”

Are gates of your soul approved by the the King of kings?

For more on the topic of godly gates. read Lesson 3 of Rebuilding the Walls.

Posted in other | Tagged gates, Nehemiah, Nehemiah 2:7-8 | Comments Off

Time to Come

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

Posted in other | Tagged Come Lord Jesus, Revelation 22:20, Time | Comments Off

Time After Its Own Kind

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

Genesis 1:11, 14 (NASB)
Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind . . . Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons.”

God created the plants; we plan ahead, till the ground and plant the seeds in neat rows. God created time; we plan ahead, establish routines and work our way down our to-do lists.

Just as seeds mysteriously burst into plants after their own kind, seconds mysteriously burst into accomplishments after their own kind.

May your accomplishments be the right kind.

Posted in other | Tagged after its own kind, creation, Genesis 1:11-14, plants, Time | Comments Off

My Favorite Season

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens.

Autumn has long been my favorite season. It occurs to me that I’m in my personal autumn. Childhood was spring. Motherhood was summer. Grandmotherhood is autumn. And it is a grand season.

Posted in other | Tagged Ecclesiastes 3:1, grandchildren, seasons | 2 Comments

My Troubled Times

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

I’ve been seeing time as my enemy: I race against time, there is never enough time, I resent interruptions to my own plans for my time.

I’ve been telling myself that if I’d been the creator, I’d have arranged things a tad more efficiently.

Seriously?

Time was created for you, Jesus tells me. It is my gift to you.

It’s time for my attitude adjustment.

Posted in other | Tagged Time | 2 Comments

Creating Time

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

We fell back. One hour. Do you care?

It’s great—I like morning light
No matter to me
It’s the only extra hour in my life

Try as we might, humans can’t create time.

Genesis 1:14, 18-19 (NASB)
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years . . . and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

God, who is beyond time, created time. On day 4. For us.

I’m curious. How were days 1-3 measured?

Posted in other | Tagged creation, Daylight Savings Time, Genesis 1:14, Time | 2 Comments

Praise God from Whom Sabbath Blessings Flow

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Shirlee Abbott

Posted in other | Tagged Doxology, Hebrews 4:9, Sabbath | Comments Off