VineWords Newsletter: Mar/Apr 2020
Who [Jesus Christ] being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Hebrews 1:3 (NKJV)
Hello Friends,
I was folding my husband’s jeans, and checking the hems for frays. That’s how I determine at a glance which are his work jeans verses his dress jeans.
The thought came to me that I am like the pair of jeans that are frayed on the ends—less than perfect, but usable to the majestic God we serve. Perhaps you can relate.
Last time we met via newsletter, we discussed God’s majesty, which is the word I am focusing on throughout the year 2020. God is majestic in every way—He is perfect, and He is glorious through and through. He provides our life’s breath, and He is the personification of love and peace.
Even so, our divine God partners with mankind even though we are like a frayed pair of jeans, imperfect, but ready to work. The fact is, God ordains works for us to accomplish. Scripture records, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV).
Just think of the significance—I am like a frayed pair of jeans, yes, BUT–Jesus Christ lives inside of me is the express image of the glory of God the Father. (see Hebrews 1:3) Therefore, I am useful to God, and my friend so are you.
We can do all things with the empowerment of our MAJESTIC CREATOR. So, as I reminded us last time, let’s take the limits off what we can imagine accomplishing!
God has work for us to do, and every day we draw closer to His Son Jesus’ return. God knows our needs, and He will shore us up to do His work as we trust in Him.
Let’s pray…
Father God, thank You for my weaknesses. Because I know all good things I can accomplish will happen only because I have leaned into Your bosom of grace, this knowledge helps me to lean. I don’t ever want to do things on my own. Especially when I have reached a goal, keep me humble, dependent upon You, and eagerly learning from You, my MAJESTIC GOD. Ever make me dependent upon You, and let me proclaim Your goodness through out the world. In Your Son’s Name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
Shalom,
Diane Virginia
Founder of VineWords: Devotions and More
http://www.vinewords.net
VINEWORDS CONTRIBUTOR INTERVIEW: Meet Martin Wiles….
Thank you, Martin, for interviewing with VineWords. We are delighted to learn about your writing passion.
Q: Why do you write? What drives you?
A: What drives me is the possibility of going insane if I don’t write. I write what I do because I want others to experience God’s love through true stories with biblical application—much as Jesus did. Like the prophet Jeremiah, stories burn in my body, and they must come out. My hope is to encourage others, regardless of what they are experiencing on their life journey.
Q: What is your work schedule like when you’re writing a book?
A: Since I am a teacher and have a day job that often extends into the evenings and weekends (grading papers)—and since I am editor as well, my preferred time to write is at 4:45 a.m. This is when my mind is the sharpest. If I don’t write then, other things that come up during the day—life—get in the way.
READ MORE AT:
https://vinewords.net/martin-wiles-vinewords-interview/
VINEWORDS NEWS
- VineWords welcomes three new Contributors: Martin Wiles, Karen Jergens, and Evelyn Wells. Please check out their Bios that we will be posting on the site.
- Elise Crawford’s book, Wildflower, releases soon. Check out the status her book by clicking on her Books Link on the Meet Our Contributors page.
- Diane Virginia (Cunio) won two awards at the Asheville Christian Writer’s Conference:
- The Kiss of Peace: A Contemporary Exploration into Song of Solomon placed Second Runner Up in the Sparrow Book Awards. (We are seeking a royalty publisher; please contact Diane if you are interested. Her Writing Coach is Les Stobbe.)
- My Super Hero placed Fourth in the Advancing the Kingdom Devotions Awards.
RECENT DEVOTIONS
Hispanic
Diane Virginia: Mi SuperHeroe
Sentí el olor de jebe cuando el sedán se detuvo con un chillido. Con sus piernas extendidas, palmas estiradas completamente, y brazos agitando, mi hijo Matthew de tres años estaba parado delante del carro con una expresión de gozo. ¿Como saco su mano de la mía? Yo tome a mi hijo en mi brazo, aumente mi presión en la mano de mi hija, y me acerque a la ventana de de la persona que manejaba. Yo le pedí mil disculpas al conductor…
LEER MAS:
https://vinewords.net/espanol-diane-virginia-mi-superheroe-my-super-hero/
Contributors
I have to be honest—it’s not every day that I read my Bible. I pray every day, and most days, I do read my Bible, but sometimes I don’t. I know I’m not the only one, but most people don’t like to admit this.
With this in mind, I decide to research how long it would take to read the whole Bible if I read it daily, giving only a minimum effort….
READ MORE AT:
Diane Virginia: My Super Hero
I smelled rubber as the sedan screeched to a halt. With legs sprawled, and palms outstretched, my three-year-old son stood in front of the car with an expression of delight. How had he slipped his hand out of mine? I scooped up my son and daughter, and apologized to the driver.
Once inside the store, I asked, “Son, what were you thinking?”
“I’m Superman! I stop car!” He flexed his muscles to demonstrate his power.
“Mom, that was neat,” my daughter said.
“Not exactly,” I said, knowing we would discuss street safety later. I’ll shelve the Super Hero videos for now, I thought, but I knew that would be futile.
To my three-and-four-year-old children, super heroes were as real as Charlotte the spider who lived on the porch, and I was not permitted to sweep her web away in case she wanted to write a message. The Easter Bunny lived in the neighborhood—my children had seen him…
READ MORE AT:
https://vinewords.net/diane-virginia-my-super-hero/
Karen Jurgens: Blessing in Disguise
What an auspicious day it was when I learned about the nutritious benefits of raw foods. Or was it?
An entire aisle of raw nutrition at an organic grocery popped into view shortly thereafter, and the granola bars almost leapt off the shelf and into my hands. Although I had discovered these treats were tough to bite into, I indulged for several delicious days. That is—until the fourth day. I bit into a bar that must have sat on a grocery shelf too long. Suddenly my tooth bent backward. This stubborn bar fought my desire to consume it.
That’s how I wound up in the endodontist’s chair this morning for a root canal procedure. A tiny but very old infection…
READ MORE AT:
https://vinewords.net/karen-jurgens-blessings-in-disguise/
RANDOM DRAWINGS
Winners
There are no current winners for the RANDOM DRAWING FOR March/April. We will run the same random drawing again for May/June.
May/June Random Drawing: Please message us with the name of each friend you invite to SUBSCRIBE to VineWords. Even if your friend declines, YOUR NAME will be entered in the drawing as a thank you for your kindness. If your friend does subscribe, his/her name and yours will be added to random drawing.
Prize
The prize is a sterling sliver and gemstone bead bracelet from VineWords Jewelry.
Comments
VineWords Newsletter: Mar/Apr 2020 — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>