Full Armour of God

I am having one of those days where I am letting the craziness of the world make me feel uneasy. I was looking through some devotions I had written and I came across this one, which is entitled, "Full Armour of God." I feel better after I read it and I thought maybe you might be having some of this feelings too. Thank you Jesus!

Full Armour of God!

In Ephesians we can read some powerful scriptures about the full armour of God.  This particular scripture came to my mind the day I heard my dog Rodger barking outside.  If you are a pet owner you can recognize the different ways your dog barks at something.  I knew he was not barking at a person so it had to be another animal.  My worst fear was finding a snake curled up, this particular bark warned me of such a creature many times, however this time it was a turtle.  Rodger was barking and wagging his tail and hopping from one side of the turtle to the next.  While I enjoyed watching him from my window a fear came over me that it might be a snapping turtle.  Okay what would I do if it was and it bit into Rodger?  Would I be able to pry apart that tight grip that only thunder could release?  LOL.

I went outside to check it out and relief came over me to see that it was not a snapping turtle, just a very large scared turtle who had hid in his shell for protection.  Rodger eventually gave up and the turtle slowly made his way to the other side of the road. This turtle, by putting his full armour of protection, was able to withstand Rodger, his enemy.  How wonderful  we have that same protection against enemies and the powers of the dark world with all its evil.  God provides us with His full armour of protection.  As Christians we need to stand firm in our beliefs and rise above all the evil that we truly face each day in our lives. 

In Ephesians 6:10-17, it reads, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

You can also read in Romans 8:28-31, “"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:28-31.  

May your day begin in fellowship with the One who loves you and protects you through all your battles.  May God’s Peace embrace you just like His Armour!

Always a Topic on Facebook

If you are a daily Facebook user, well then you know, each day there is usually a topic of concern for many. During the presidential election one could not log on without finding nasty messages, degrading pictures, debates and anything else one would want to throw out on their post about this heated topic. Now all eyes and ears on the gun control issue and as usual a mountain is being made out of a mole hill. I quote here, "I don't own a gun, but man I am an expert on the topic because I am reading all about it on Facebook, so if it is printed there it is true." Are you reading into the lines on this one as well? Everyone is an expert...at everything because they can debate it.  I don't feel the need to share with anyone whether my household owns a gun or not. That is each families right to either do or don't. Do people really think that this right is going to be taking away from the American people? That is what upsets me about it all. Then there are the remarks about silly other things the government will have control over....EGADS......can we just talk about our friends and family, vacations, hobbies, new babies, new jobs, birthdays, great places to eat, sports, who is going to win the Super Bowl, World Series, will it be cold today, hot tomorrow, new restaurant in town......hey I have lost 5 pounds!!


I don't know......it just Jan's Way!

Be Careful for What You Wish For

In one of my early blogs I reported I wanted to slow down this year. I have titled this blog, "Be Careful for What You Wish For," because by slowing down my entire family has been hit with this crazy flu thing and it has in every since of the words....slowed us down!

This over the top busy household has not really been normal since the first day of Christmas break. We went from having parties, basketball games, family gatherings, Christmas day, tons of snow, cabin fever, more basketball games, practices, homework, flu fever. I love my home and being with family, but this momma is truly ready for some fun! ( As I am sure my family members are too)

But I need to use my Country Porch gift certificate I got for Christmas. I need to shop for junk and get a Route 44 Coke with extra ice from Sonic. I need to visit my junk stores, and dream, create, shop...I need the first smell of the antiques store when you walk into them.....I need to see homespun fabric.....I need a junkers lunch!

I have met the need to slow down and now I am ready to take it to the next level! There is so much in the saying....."when you have your health...you have everything." I am going to remind myself of this strange and unusual January and give thanks to the time when we can get up and go! And when slowing down means, just sitting and talking with your family with a nice meal and a great cup coffee afterwards.

Jan's Way..............

New Year 2013

I don't know how many times I sat down to commit myself to writing a daily blog! I love writing, so how hard can this be. I have pages and pages of thoughts in my mind, so this should be easy. A  new year resolution? My resolution this year was not to make resolutions, but to make tons of memories, pay more attention to my health, slow down, write in my blog daily...wait a minute...those are resolutions!! Anyway there you have it. I guess I have resolved to do things in the new year.....

This morning in my slow down process, I have applied hair color to my hair and what better way to let 25 minutes go by, type my blog ...and then as you are typing away you realize you forgot to time those 25 minutes. It turned out just fine...this time. I will really need to be more careful..slow down. See how this all comes together?

I love the New Year and all the excitement it brings. It really is a blank canvas, a new notebook, a blank calendar, a clean slate, the first chapter of a new book! You are given a chance to start all over again.  I always get a new address book, make a new bill binder to keep track of my bills and the boys baseball binder. With my two younger sons both traveling on a baseball team I need organization to make sure they get to their practices, schedule hotel rooms, write down their schedule for the spring and summer, board Rodger, etc......

Also for my new year, I love getting back to decorating my house after all the Christmas decorations have been taken down. I finally found my style of decorating..I call it, primitive, shabby chic, country. I am not so sure HGTV is ready for that combination, however, its...... Jano's Way!

Until next time...God Bless, be kind, stay sweet, say your prayers!