Posts by joaniebruce

The God of the Stars

Posted by joaniebruce on Nov 12, 2015 in Blog | Comments Off on The God of the Stars

My friend and author, Carrie Daws, has opened my eyes to what a great God we have watching over us. Thank you, Carrie, for sharing this inspirational blog with us today.

Carrie:

How many stars can you name? Not movie or sports stars, but actual stars in the night sky. I know Polaris. And Orion–no, wait. That’s a constellation. And, ummm. Hmm. Yeah, I think I’m done. I can name exactly one star. Not very impressive, is it?

Have you ever wondered how many stars are out there? If you’ve ever been in a dark, country area where you aren’t surrounded by city or street lights, it’s amazing. Pinpricks of light cover the midnight sky, perhaps for no other reason but that God spoke them into existence.

I went looking for an estimate on the number of stars in the universe. Clearly, I’m out of my league here. Although it makes sense to me now, my very non-scientific brain didn’t even consider adding the detail “observable universe.” I suppose a piece of me believes that someone out there can answer my question with an exactness. A knowing that goes beyond complex formulas.

SkyandTelescope.com says astronomers estimate that the observable universe “has more than 100 billion galaxies. Our own Milky Way is home to around 300 billion stars. … By measuring the number and luminosity of observable galaxies, astronomers put current estimates of the total stellar population at roughly 70 billion trillion.”

Some websites agree with Skyandtelescope’s numbers and other websites have larger numbers, but it doesn’t really matter for this discussion. That’s a lot of stars, and no one on earth knows if that’s all of them.

But my heart instinctively relaxes when reading Psalm 147:4. It says that not only does God determine the number of stars, He calls them each by name. Billions of trillions of stars. And God calls them each by name.

If that’s not impressive enough, Isaiah 40:26 says, Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. 

Not one changes form or explodes without God knowing. Not one.

I sometimes have trouble coming up with the right name for the one of my three children standing in front of me. And more than once I’ve walked the neighborhood looking for a lost dog.

But you see, that’s the point of these verses. God is bigger and smarter and more in control–way more than me or you. If He can keep track of the names and positions of billions of trillions of stars across more than one hundred billion galaxies, do you seriously think He’s going to have any trouble keeping track of the people who love Him? The people who seek Him?

Rest assured: God watches over you.

The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. ~Psalm 121:8

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Carrie is the author of over fifteen inspirational books, both fiction and non-fiction. Her non-fiction books were written to help military wives thrive and handle the different aspects of military life.

Please check out her website and the free gifts she gives away there, or her amazon page which includes a list of all her books:

Carrie’s website HERE

Carrie’s Amazon page HERE

All You Have To Do Is Ask!

Posted by joaniebruce on Aug 24, 2015 in Blog | Comments Off on All You Have To Do Is Ask!

Dear Readers: How can I help you today? My thoughts this morning are with my readers. Do you have struggles to overcome today? Are you raising small children and need a truck load of encouragement … just to make it through meal time, bath time and finally bed time? Do you have a sudden health problem, a financial payment due, or another disappointment to wade through?

I wish I could help each and every one of you in your battles for the day, but unfortunately, there is only one of me. So, I can’t show up at each of your houses with a home cooked meal, or chauffeur your children around for the day to give you a break, or help you with a financial setback, but I certainly have the ability and desire to pray for each of you.

Please let me know if you would like me to add you to my prayer list. I would feel it an honor to pray for you, because we know that God does answer prayers! All we have to do is ask.

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Luke 11:9

Impatient? Me???

Posted by joaniebruce on Jul 29, 2015 in Blog | 2 comments

Dear Readers: Are you a patient person? Sometimes I think when God created me, He forgot to give me patience. ( Lol ) …..which is ridiculous, I know, since God makes no mistakes—but I am deficient when it comes to that trait. And the world we live in today which flaunts instant gratification with fast food, instant access, high-speed internet, and speed dial, hasn’t helped my lack of patience at all.

But today, I learned a lesson in patience … from my husband. Ben has a bat-wing mower that he uses to mow down thistles and briers in the pasture so the cows can reach the grass underneath. His mower has seen better days, and one of the mower decks was rusted through, making it impossible to use. So … being the industrious hoarder of junk equipment that he is, he happened to have purchased an older mower to use for parts. He decided to combine the best parts of each and build a serviceable mower.

That’s when he ran into a problem. The hinges on the used mower were so old and rusty, they would not move. He worked for three days … yes, I said three days … trying to break them free by pounding, oiling, heating, cooling, and using any other tactic he could think of, but they refused to budge. And yet, even after all of that frustration, he still came into the house each time with an upbeat “Hey honey,” for me. Even though he was covered in oil, grease, rust and dirt and was tired from the ninety-five degree heat, he still had a smile on his face.

Now that, my friends, is a lesson in patience. My husband provides me continually with perfect examples of long-suffering and forbearance, and this is what I’ve learned from studying his personality.

1) Admit your impatience: Acknowledging I’m irritated with a person or situation is the first step to overcoming those negative feelings. Being patient is a mental skill. If I exercise it, it will get stronger.

2) Agree that patience is a choice:  I can choose to be angry or aggravated, which makes me irritated even more, or I can choose to be calm and tolerant. The choice you make determines your outlook on anything that happens in your life.

3) Accept what you cannot change:  Slow drivers are a nightmare for me, yet I can’t make them go away. I can ride their bumpers, honk my horn, yell out the window, or make faces and hope they see me in the mirror, but chances are, they won’t even notice my behavior. When you can’t change it, accept it. Ben would probably say “Relax. Enjoy the ride.”

4) Analyze the situation, and come up with something positive to say about it:  Being behind a slow car might save me from being involved in a wreck further up the road. If I can change my feelings of pessimism to optimism, I find that I’m much happier.

So, my dear friends, I’m trying to make my life happier and more pleasing to God by living my life with a tolerance for others and without complaint. I’m not saying I will always succeed because I won’t, but I’m trying … and I hope you will as well.

Patience: 1) the quality of being patient, as in the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like. 2) the ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.

Do Certain People Push Your Buttons?

Posted by joaniebruce on Jul 15, 2015 in Blog | 4 comments

Do you have someone in your life who seems un-lovable? No matter how deep you dig, you just can’t seem to generate a feeling of love for that person?

Most of my acquaintances are pleasing companions, but there is one or two who seem to push my buttons—they make me want to run in the opposite direction when I see them in the grocery store. With this type of person, I find I need a different kind of love … an unconditional “God love.” That means I have to allow God to love that person through me.  When my sin nature only lets me see the “unlovable” qualities of someone I know, I definitely need God’s help.

Then…..I realize that in God’s eyes, I am just as unlovable—just as odd or sinful as anyone on this planet, and yet the Bible tells me that God loves me anyway. What a wonderful thought! To know the God of the universe loves me, no matter what I am or what I do. If such an awesome God can love me unconditionally, it’s a small thing for me to extend that love to others, even a person who is hard to love.

Do you have one of those in your life? Pray for God to give you His “God love,” and, pray for that person. When I pray for a “hard to love” friend, I find that compassion and concern for that person creeps into my heart … after that, love is close behind.

“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:8 –

Do I Smell Bad?

Posted by joaniebruce on Jun 19, 2015 in Blog | Comments Off on Do I Smell Bad?

Have you ever inhaled a strong whiff of ammonia? Whew! The sharp smell burns your nose and brings tears to your eyes no matter how little of a whiff you take. Sometimes I think that might be what God suffers when He sniffs the bad attitudes in my life: selfishness, deceit, laziness, pride, self-centeredness, complaining … to name just a few.

The Bible says “For we are unto God a sweet savour (aroma) of Christ …” (2 Cor. 2:15a)   But, I’m sure we are only sweet-scented when we honor and please Him by applying the fruits of the spirit: “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”

I want to be like a fragrant candle to my Father who has done so much for me.  ^“And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Eph 5:2

He gave Himself as a sweet-smelling sacrifice so that I might accept the gift of eternal life. Thank you, Lord!