January 01st, 2018

Good evening everyone…and welcome tonight, to the Heart to Heart Blog! It feels so good to just sit with you right now and take a break from the day! Since I wasn’t feeling the best…late last night, I decided to go to bed a little earlier…before the New Year rang in and get some rest; so I could get up today and do a little work. Usually…my husband and I don’t do anything on New Year’s day; so I thought that this would be a good and quiet time to catch up with the ministry work…and boy am I glad I decided to do that; because I felt God’s presence all thru my day…and what a great day it has been!
 
After going to bed early last night, I barely heard some booms and bangs in my sleep, as our neighbor…down the way from us, was shooting off fireworks.  I figured it was now New Year’s Day and then I rolled over and went back to sleep. Wow…I was really celebrating well last night…can you tell?
 
Anyways…as I got up this morning, I was still feeling tired but after some time, I decided to pursue the day and see what God had for me to do; so I began by working on my audio weekly word of encouragement for Wednesday…and all I can say; is that you will have to come back and visit my “Weekly Podcast” page on Wednesday, which is actually “Inspiration for the Heart.” I’m sure that you will truly be blessed, with what God has laid upon my heart, to share with you. In fact, some of the writing tells a story of something I went thru this morning and how I truly experienced the hand of God in my morning; so come back and if I remember…I will post a link in my Tuesday night blog, or you can find “Weekly Podcast,” under the top tab of my homepage…titled, Weekly Events.
 
After a busy day, I decided to just sit and listen to some music, which I just love to do! In fact, music has played a very important part in my life and is always of encouragement to me! Anyways…I was listening to a song, by Ce Ce Winans, titled “Alabaster Box,” which is actually the story of Mary Magdalene. In the song, some of my favorite lyrics read… “And I've come to pour my praise on Him, like oil from Mary's alabaster box. Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears and dry them with my hair. You weren't there the night Jesus found me…you did not feel what I felt, when He wrapped his loving arms around me and you don't know the cost of the oil…oh, you don't know the cost of my praise…you don't know the cost of the oil, in my alabaster box.”
 
Whenever I hear these words; this song takes me back to a time, when I had truly felt God’s arms wrapped around me. This was a time, when no one else could feel or understand what I was experiencing at the time…but God and me…and now; no one can understand the cost of my praise, for all He has done for me. What a beautiful song!
 
I wonder…do we truly have a heart of praise, for all those moments, when God stepped in and saved us from a pit of total defeat…or do we find that we are more focused on everything that has gone wrong in our lives? I have learned and seen how Satan can attempt to drag us down paths that only remind us of a painful past.
 
Just think what life would be like, if the hurt and painful moments of the past became a heart of praise…one with so much value; that we couldn’t even count the cost, for all God has done for us.
 
You know…I have truly enjoyed this time with you and these thoughts have been a reminder to me also…to always look for the moments, when God was there, rather than the times, when Satan had attempted to bring me down for good. The way I see it is this…if we survive these difficult times in our lives; then there should be no reason to thrive on them; but rather take a deep breath and thank the One, who stepped in and had become everything we ever needed, while facing those difficult times.
 
Well…time for me to go and have some dinner and relax. I’m so glad that you stopped by tonight and I pray that you will have a great night of rest…covered in the peace that only comes from the Prince of Peace! Take care and I hope to see you tomorrow night, as I share another new day, along with the goodness of a great…loving and powerful God…heart to heart!
Blessings on your night!
It’s Always & Only Because of Him…
Diane
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