inspiration

SHARE YOUR WORLD FROM JULY 15, 2024

/ joseph elon lillie / 4 Comments

It is July 16th. I am only one day off this week in my sharing post!

I am sitting at my dining table writing this at 8 A.M. because I want to make sure not to miss another week of SHARE YOUR WORLD. This is the challenge where we answer four questions and give an affirmation at the end. By doing so we the contributors all share bits of our worlds.

HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS AND MY ANSWERS:

  1. Do you have a bestie (ie. best friend) YES! Jody Clapp has been my friend since 6th grade. We met in Mrs. Lapointe’s math class. We were in marching band together and concert band. He was Snoopy. I was Charlie Brown in the school musical. We went to church together and were best men at each other’s wedding. He is the worship director at the church I pastor, the head of building and grounds and one of the church deacons. My kids all call him “Uncle Jody” and his wife “Aunt Paula”. He is one of my most precious friends
  2.   Do you have a lot of friends? I do have a lot of friends. I have a whole church that I call extended family. We do life together.
    3.  Has a friend ever let you down to the extent that the friendship has died? Yes. Although dead things can be resurrected.
    4.  Are you more likely to confide in a friend rather than family? My family are my closest friends.

GRATITUDE:

SO THANKFUL MY DAUGHTER SENT ME THIS SONG YESTERDAY.

AND SO THANKFUL FOR THE YOUNG MAN FRPOM OUR CHURCH WHO WROTE THIS SONG.

A KICKSTART ON BREATHING

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

There is a lot going on here at The Vicarage. There has been a lot going on for months. I am OK just fighting the battle against getting rattled. God has told me that one of the things I need to do to to make it through this season is to just keep going with as normal a pace as possible. That requires a boat load of prayer and breathing.

My sister runs a ministry called, The Bridge Artistic Network, out of The Netherlands. One of the things she does as part of the ministry is a weekly “Creative Connection Video” called “Monday Morning Kickstart”. This week’s video is on breathing and focus.

WHAT’S BLOOMING AT THE VICARAGE 7-10-24

/ joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

It has been quite a week for the Lillies of the Vicarage. And I mean that for both the human Lillies and the flower lilies.

We have three new varieties of lilies blooming on the property.

Plenty of rain And lots of heat are keeping these flowers blooming and growing.

We humans have also had plenty of rain and heat in the metaphorical sense. One daughter had gallbladder surgery this week. My other daughter lost her beloved pet Picasso four days before she started radiation treatments. My sister discovered that her work in the Netherlands is going to be double taxed. She will have to pay taxes to the US and to the Dutch government on all income. Like I said, lots of rain and heat.

In the midst of all these things, we are standing on verses from the Bible, like the one below

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.1.6-7.NLT

My daughter Amanda’s word for the year is “bloom”. we are learning that blooming takes rain and heat. We are facing many trials but we know God will carry us through somehow.

Morning Glory

“I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death. Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered. I cried out to you, O Lord. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, “What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness? Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me. Help me, O Lord.” You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭30‬:‭1‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.30.1-12.NLT