Soli Deo Gloria “To God ALONE the Glory”

November 15, 2008 5:02 PM 12
This beautiful maple tree is all alone in a pasture of evergreens. The name of this tree is “Glory Maple.” This is Mr. Glory Maple’s first year at our farm and it is showing off! We planted him back in January.
I am re-naming this tree: Soli Deo Gloria! To God Alone be the Glory! For He is the one Who made this tree and all glory is due Him. I love Him because He first loved me and He “planted me” too…and I want my roots to grow deep in Him so that I can truly say, so that I can TRULY say…To God ALONE be the Glory!
So what is it that truly matters to the Lord? The great composer Johann Sebastian Bach signed each one of his masterpieces soli deo gloria…to God alone the glory.”
I met a wonderful woman named Tammy (a.k.a. “Grateful in Georgia”) at the Siesta Fiesta back in August, and with whom I bonded in an instant (over Holly’s [a.k.a. Crown Laid Down] wonderful cookbook compilation). Tammy and I are the same age, same birthday (one day apart), same JESUS (THE Reason for the instant bond). She wrote a blog post about her life and grandbaby that blessed me so very much this morning. Go here to read it Breaking Free. She is attending the re-taping of Beth Moore’s study by the same name. What a powerful post to ascribe to “Soli Deo Gloria.” The people of Micah’s day had much the same problem that we see in our lives as believers today. In Micah 6:6-8, the prophet asks a question and then answers it himself.
“With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

To Act Justly, To Love Mercy, To Walk Humbly,

Help me Lord,

Soli Deo Gloria, Georgia Jan

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R&R IN “YE OLDE SOUTH”

November 9, 2008 3:59 AM 5

My sweet husband and I just spent 3 days away for a little R&R (for you non-military types, R&R stands for Rest & Relaxation). It could have been R & R & R & R & R, Rest, Relaxation, Revival, Reconnecting, and ROMANCE 🙂 We had such a wonderrrrrful time! This trip was a gift to us from our church in honor of our 20 years of service there. They are the best congregation in the world and we love them! Anyway, the gift came in June, but since the reservations were good for a year, and we had a BIG-EVENTS summer in our family that included the wedding of our youngest son in June and the birth of our first grandchild in August, we finally just got away this past weekend. We headed out to Savannah Wednesday afternoon. We love Savannah, a very beautiful and romantic city on the coast of Georgia. In fact, it is Georgia’s oldest city. Here are some pictures from my weekend…

A huge moss-draped Live Oak tree – St. Simons Island, Georgia
View from our room at the River Street Inn which fronts the Savannah River in the
historic section of Savannah. The hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places
and was built as a cotton warehouse back in the early 1800’s.

Another view from the room facing the Savannah River and the riverboats.


These are the ruins of  Fort Frederica which was built back in the early 1700’s to protect the coast of Georiga from invasions by the Spanish in northern Florida.

Now this picture below is also in a historic section of Savannah. It is the famous LADY & SONS RESTAURANT and is owned and operated by Paula Deen and her two sons. The food is wonderful and no trip to Savannah is complete without a trip to the Lady & Sons.

Me and Paula Deen!
My sweet husband indulged my love for history and we took the “long way home” and re-routed back by St. Simons Island. One of my favorite authors of all times, Eugenia Price, is buried at Christ Church cemetery. Eugenia wrote many books about Georgia’s early history.  They are novels, but she always used “historical characters.” I own every book she ever wrote – she was a wonderful Christian woman. Prior to her extensive novels, she wrote many Christian devotionals that have become classics.  I also own all of those and am so proud of my collection!
This is Gary and the famous “Wesley Oak” where John Wesley preached when he came to preach in the newly founded Georgia Colony.
 
Christ Church on St. Simons Island, Georgia

It is absolutely gorgeous and a step back in time with all the huge live oak trees and Spanish moss hanging from them. The cemetery had graves dating back to the early 1800’s and it was so peaceful to visit this church and the gardens nearby.

Life is good and I am a blessed woman indeed.  Thank you for sharing my R & R & R & R & R weekend!

~Georgia Jan

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Watch and Pray

November 5, 2008 1:13 AM 1

Election Night…2008

I love the old hymn, “Jesus Paid it All.” Today I’ve been singing and meditating on the phrase that says “Child of weakness, watch and pray, find in me thine all in all.”

I also love the land of my birth, the USA, very much. I have been watching and praying, and claiming this verse from Proverbs 28:2:

“When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but when the ruler is a man of discernment, understanding, and knowledge, its stability will long continue.”

I am praying that no matter what the voters decide, we as the body of Christ will rest in the fact that we know and believe that Jesus is the SAME, yesterday, today, and forever! HE is our stability!

God Bless the USA!
Jan

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Plan B is for BOY and BLESSINGS!

October 27, 2008 1:55 PM 5

Today I am baby-sitting my 2 1/2 month old grandson, Zeke. We are having sweet fellowship. Ezekiel is at that wonderful age where he is smiling and cooing, he is so precious. We have shared some secrets this morning and I have been singing “Great is Thy Faithfulness” to him. He loves it, and oh I can’t wait to tell him one day how faithful God was to bless our lives with little Ezekiel Timothy…

His father is my oldest son, Jeremy, who is a pastor. Jeremy has to conduct a funeral this afternoon. My darling daughter-in-law is finishing up her master’s degree in marriage/family therapy counseling and had appointments that she must attend today. Her mother (the other Grandma who is Plan A and usually babysits) is ministering to the widow of the gentleman whose funeral is this afternoon and helping plan a meal for the family after the funeral. That’s what we do here in the South. It is a wonderful blessing to families.

So here comes Plan B – ME! The other grandmother – Gran Jan! I am Plan B because I am the mother of the BOY! It is a wonderful place to be, and I just blessed to be babysitting and part of the plan. All you mothers of sons remember that this is also God’s Plan as spoken in the book of Genesis “for this cause shall a man LEAVE his father and mother and cleave to his wife…” Boys must leave and cleave and it is all good…trust me. I have raised two fine men and they are wonderful and God has given me two amazing daughters-in-law. I am so very blessed.

Because I remember how much I wanted my mother with me when my boys were babies, I am totally okay with being Plan B! I am just blessed to be here and blessed to know the greater joy of God’s Plan for this precious grandson.

GOD’S PLANS ARE THE BEST OF ALL AND HE HAS A PLAN FOR EVERYONE…and His plans are to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future! Jeremiah 29:11

Rejoicing in His Plan Today,
Gran Jan, a.k.a. Plan B for BOY and BLESSINGS

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GOLDEN GLOW…

October 18, 2008 11:08 PM 4

Gardening is a passion of mine, and one that brings me great peace and joy as I work and think and pray and ponder and just enjoy being outside in the presence of God. I especially love gardening in Autumn!

I love this plant. I think of it as a cultured wildflower of sorts, and have heard it called “Golden Glow,” or “Swamp Sunflower,” but it’s real name is Helianthus Angustifolia. (My name is Jan, but my real name is written down in the Book of Life because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross for me, and my acceptance of His blood atonement for my sins!)
Golden Glow blooms in glorious October and it truly does GLOW with bright yellow flowers.
I am celebrating this year because my Golden Glow has made it’s way back home to me…and I am so happy to have it back in my garden. It was first given to me years ago by a precious senior adult woman. I grew it for years and shared cuttings with many others. I gave some to my daughter-in-law’s mother and she planted it in her garden. We share a love for gardening and also a new grandson…named Zeke…have I mentioned him lately? 🙂
When we moved to our farm a year ago, I neglected to bring any Golden Glow from my old garden with me and I really was missing this “Delight” to my soul! This past spring, a friend with whom I had shared some cuttings brought it back to me and now I can start the tradition again. My Mom has already asked for some new plants next Spring, and I will gladly share with her!
Lessons learned:
*Share from the abundance of what you have…
*The blessings will return back to you…
*Get outside and enjoy God’s glorious creation…
*Be sure and know what your “real name” is…
*Bask in the GLOW of His Love for you…
Blessings,
Jan
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Especially for Holly

October 8, 2008 12:15 AM 5

For my friend Holly from Colorado, vist her here. This wonderful concept is taught in the study, Believing God, by Beth Moore. Visit Beth here. I posted last month about my moonvine that has large white flowers and blooms at night…hence the name “moonflower.” I also shared about the fascinating night-time hummingbirds that visit. Holly replied that she was interested in these nighttime creatures, so I told her I would try to send some information. I looked around the world wide web, but the pictures were not really pretty and I wanted to actually TAKE a picture, so I’ve been waiting! Well tonight during my evening stroll around the garden I heard the familiar “sound” of rapid wings fluttering and my heart skipped a beat…because it has been a long time since I actually saw the nighttime visitors…check it out Holly!!! Can you see this one in flight as well? This was taken just about an hour ago. The night hummingbird (actually a moth) is just above the pink flowers right at the edge of the sidewalk. Here’s another view where he is taking off again. I had the absolute best time attempting to take these pictures, all the while thinking how blessed I was to see this “delight.” This picture on the left is not great because I was fluttering around myself (what a sight in itself!) trying to take the pictures. The hummingbird moth is right near the window on the far right of the picture. They are quite large. What does all this mean to me? I am reminded that we serve a God who never sleeps or slumbers, He is always awake (Isaiah 40:28). We can rest in Him, because He cares for us. Our God who is up all day and night for ever and ever even created wondrous delights that are up at night too! Now, me personally, I look forward to the day when there will be NO MORE NIGHT – because we will be with Jesus and He is the LIGHT and will SHINE forever and ever, AMEN! Night-night, sleep tight… Love, Jan

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Record Keeping

October 1, 2008 1:34 AM 4

Psalm 130: HOPE IN GOD’S FORGIVENESS

Have you ever had to cry out to God for forgiveness of your sins? We all have sinned and need that peace and forgiveness that comes when we realize that GOD KEEPS NO RECORDS of our sins – as we cry for mercy from the depths (verse 1)

Psalm 130

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD
2 O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Also the waiting time is so hard, as seen in verse 6, as the watchman have to wait for the morning. They know when they see that first light that morning will soon arrive and they can get some much needed rest, so they watch for the morning with great intensity.

Lord help us to WAIT upon You and Hope in Your Word alone.

Thank You Lord for forgiving us when we cry out to You and ask You. Thank You Lord for not being a record-keeper. Forgive us when we keep records against others. Help us to know how to cry out to You and make a difference for others.

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