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Posts Tagged ‘serving God’

Make A Joyful Noise!

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , , , on August 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Praise and thanksgiving are important principles of a Christians life. Throughout the old and new testaments we are told to give thanks and to praise God. When I first read Psalm 100, I fell in love with the simplicity of it. It is a short and simple chapter on how, who and why, we should have joy and give thanks.

MAKE a joyful noise unto the Lord!

Who? All ye lands

SERVE the Lord with gladness!

COME before His presence with singing!

KNOW that the Lord is God!

Why? HE made us! We did NOT make ourselves! We are HIS people and the sheep of HIS pasture!

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving AND into His courts with praise!

BE thankful unto Him AND

BLESS His name!

Why should we do these things?

BECAUSE the Lord IS good! His mercy IS everlasting! AND His truth endureth to ALL generations!

I am the first to admit that there are a lot of commands in this text. How can we DO all of these things that are asked of us? Our motivation is because we trust that the Lord is good. If you pay attention, His goodness can be found all around us. God’s mercy will never end! When we fall into sin, we just need to repent and God forgives and restores our relationship with Him. NO QUESTIONS ASKED!!! The most important motivation for following the commands in this text is the truth of CHRIST. Jesus died for our sins 2,000 years ago and generation after generation, we are still learning about Him. The truth of Jesus’s sacrifice for us will NEVER die out. It is God’s will that NONE should perish and be sent to hell (2 Peter 3:9). God’s word will continue to be preached until the end of the age. He will continue to bless those that accept Jesus into their hearts and lives. He will continue to love us all. I know His love for me and I will praise Him, thank Him and worship Him forever. Won’t you?

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Saint Elizabeth Of Hungary

Posted in For Single Moms, tagged , , , on October 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

saint elizabeth of hungary

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) was born into royalty. She was engaged at the age of 4 to the eldest son of Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia. She was moved into the castle at Thuringia at a very young age to be raised with her betrothed. Elizabeth grew into a young woman of strong religious beliefs and often suffered the hostility of those who felt judged of their own sinful natures.

In 1216, Elizabeth’s betrothed died and she was immediately betrothed to the Landgraves other son, Ludwig. In 1221, Elizabeth and Ludwig were married. He was 21 and she was only 14. Ludwig was always a loving husband and protected Elizabeth, giving her the religious freedom she needed to worship and perform acts of charity.

At the age of 19, Elizabeth built a hospital below the castle. She was always about the business of caring for the poor and lost.

In 1227, Elizabeth received the news that Ludwig had died from disease while away on a crusade. She had just given birth to their third child. Elizabeth turned fully to God and made a vow of chastity. In 1228, she took the vows of a nun of the Third Order of Saint Francis.

Elizabeth was under the supervision of a spiritual director who was harsh and often disciplined her in harsh ways. He beat her and ordered her children sent away.

I can only imagine her heartache at having her children sent away from her. She made arrangements for her children, renounced the world and lived the rest of her short life caring for the sick and poor in the hospital that she had built. She was only 24 when she died.

Although, Saint Elizabeth did not raise her children after the death of Ludwig, she was a single mom and loved her children dearly. Would she have given up her children on her own? I would say no. We have to remember that she was a young woman, alone in a tough world. Not unlike what many of us, as single moms, live through now.

Her children grew up to be leaders in their own right. I am sure that had to do with her own character. If you have suffered in your role as a single mom, know that you are not alone. There are single moms throughout history who’s lives have been recorded to encourage you on your single mom journey. There are also, many, many single moms walking the same path that you are on. You are not alone!

If you need someone to talk to, contact me. You are not alone, single mom!

My information for this portrait has come primarily from http://www.stelizabeth.webhero.com/index.html. There are many different websites that give information about this wonderful woman. Some websites differ in some of their information. I encourage you to do your own research.

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