DAILY DIAMONDS

ARCHIVING OLD BLOGS

2012-02-17T16:04:00.003-06:00

Beginning today, February 17, 2012, with the exception of http://mylivinglens.blogspot.com/ each of my other blogs will either be archived or completely removed from access, in favor of a new and different way at: http://suesmuse.weebly.com/ Please visit soon and let me know if you like what you see.

IN THE GAP

2011-08-23T16:32:00.000-05:00

Have you ever met a person who has so often “stood in the gap” that you wonder if he/she forgets that is not his/her permanent position? Do you feel concern that he/she is so used to being a helper that he/she may have forgotten how to allow others to help him/her? Is there at least a little bit of that in each one of us? Is

CAN’T WAIT FOR THE REUNION

2011-07-02T09:17:00.002-05:00

This morning I was where I could only hear the words coming from the television, but I got the picture anyway. A mother and daughter being reunited for the first time in twenty-three years, the mother was saying, “I can’t wait for her to meet her biological siblings!” The thought raced through my mind, I imagine that’s how God must feel about our gathering in Heaven, as I pictured the joy that

WINDBLOWN

2011-05-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

The flower and I seemed to have something in common that day. Each of us was at the street’s edge, feeling the effects of being windblown: the flower by the wind of nature and I through the wind of words that, in my eyes, were hurtful.The desert willow blossom reminded me of how I had been feeling: created to add beauty to the world, but plucked from my place, forced to face a different life than

WHY DO YOU STAND GAZING INTO THE SKY?

2011-04-24T07:26:00.002-05:00

HOW HIGH DO MY PRAYERS GO?

2011-04-15T07:59:00.007-05:00

Have you ever said or heard someone else say, “It seems my prayers are only going as far as the ceiling”? Reading the following verse recently gave me pause for thought: “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” Hebrews 5:7 (ESV) As we consider what we

BUT GOD, I ASKED FOR A MOCKINGBIRD!

2011-03-22T21:44:00.003-05:00

A long time ago I wrote about how much I wanted a mockingbird family to make its home in our front yard tree. It would make me happy if even just one mockingbird would move in and sing. But, mockingbirds come and mockingbirds go. They sit on the branches and sometimes they even sing a song or two, but as long as we and that tree have been here, five years…make it six come May…no nesting mocker

WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD?

2011-03-20T21:18:00.003-05:00

The question was asked today: What is your relationship to God?My response:The image that comes to mind is me as a little child running and reaching my arms up to my Heavenly Father as He walks towards me, holding His arms down, with His hands palms out in a motion that suggests He is eager to scoop me into His arms. After He has lifted me, He presses me against His chest as He walks along

LORD, HELP ME WHERE I AM

2011-03-10T09:40:00.003-06:00

I am often reminded of a prayer I came across when I most needed it: “Lord, help me to do what I can, where I am, with what I have.” Tucked in, too, are memories of a woman dear to my heart, which showed me that life’s changes could be weathered.A number of years ago, fifteen to be exact, I was quite new in this city. My mother had recently died. Russ, the man at church who has a love for the

SALTY TEARS

2011-02-22T10:30:00.001-06:00

Why do you suppose tears appear on cue when sorrow arises in our hearts? And, if a tear happens to slip into the corner of your mouth before you can catch it in a tissue, have you ever noticed that it has a definite salty taste?As I lay in bed, with a heavy heart at the obvious approach of death of a dear friend, these thoughts invaded what should have been sleepy time. I am convinced that a tear

MY HEART’S DESIRE

2011-02-21T14:46:00.003-06:00

When I was eight or nine years old, I stood outdoors by our country house and prayed that someday I would be a wife and mother, in that order, because, as I explained to God, a baby needed a daddy as well as a mother.At age ten, I thought I had given my life to God.At age seventeen, I was sure I had.Oh, but I had a long way to go!Now, in the early years of my seventh decade, I still have a long

JESUS

2010-12-21T06:59:00.001-06:00

JESUSBorn in a stable,Buried in a tomb;The earth He createdBecame His room.© M. Sue MooreHe [Jesus] was in the world, and the world came into being through him;yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own,and his own people did not accept him.John 1:10 -11 NRS

ONCE UPON A TIME

2010-11-15T14:47:00.003-06:00

Once upon a time…That’s a good way to begin a story of make-believe, isn’t it? This is not a make-believe story. This is a true tale.Once upon a time, there was a woman of more than three score years plus ten. One night as she was headed to bed, she had the bright idea that she must find a cute, soft, little, gray stuffed elephant to buy. Miss Sadie knew exactly where she would go the next

THE PRAYERS NOT PRAYED

2010-10-09T12:25:00.002-05:00

There have been times in my life when I have been too overwrought with sorrow or concern to formulate a worded prayer. I have taken great comfort in being able to believe with all my heart that God knows me better than I do; therefore, He completely understands and will help take care of my needs. His Word reassures me of this in Romans 8:26-27 (ESV): “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness

GOD'S PLANS

2010-08-22T14:05:00.005-05:00

So many times I have seen Jeremiah 29:11 quoted and have repeated it myself: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” We have taken that scripture very personally and applied it to mean to ME. (That is taking it out of context because it was written for a group of exiles, not just one person. However, I

JESUS CHOSE – I CAN CHOOSE

2010-08-13T15:28:00.002-05:00

Before the creation of the world, because He knew mankind would need a Savior, God made a plan and chose to send His Son to be the perfect unblemished Lamb Whose blood would be available to wash away the sins of the world. A long time ago I chose to accept this wonderful Lamb of God as my Savior.Ephesians 1:3-6“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every

KINDNESS OR CURSE

2010-08-07T13:19:00.001-05:00

Our firstborn, Beth Zimmerman, writes a blog that has over 200 regular readers. That is the known number. I suspect someone reads a particular post and sends a hyperlink to a friend saying, “You need to read this one,” and a new follower is born. Having done so myself and having recently read one of Beth’s latest blogs:http://www.bethszimmerman.com/2010/08/06/quit-enabling-us-already/ as well

WHERE I AM WEAK, HE IS STRONG

2010-06-09T21:22:00.001-05:00

Because my desire is to follow Christ I have set a standard in my actions and words that starts in my heart. Since I first learned of my Lord’s love and chose to follow Him I have learned much from His Word about who He created me to be. I have let Him, others, and myself down many times, but as with a toddler learning to walk or even for a frail elderly person struggling to maintain balance, He

WHOM DO YOU SEEK?

2010-05-09T21:50:00.000-05:00

From the first time I became aware of the verses in John 18:4ff, I have been in love with the story of Jesus’ stepping forward in the Garden that night when He was betrayed and asking, “Whom do you seek?” and the events that followed.“Whom do you seek?” When the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene,” He responded, “I am He.” Just picture

BECAUSE SHE WAS MY MOTHER

2010-05-08T08:42:00.001-05:00

When I drew my first breath,my MOTHER was with me.When I was a little girl,my MOTHER took care of me.When my children were born,my MOTHER helped take care of them and me.When my MOTHER became a widow,I helped take care of her.When my grandchildren were born,one of my children came to help take care of my widowed MOTHERso I could go help take care of my other child and her children.When my MOTHER

DADDY'S NOT OLD!

2010-04-17T18:19:00.003-05:00

My father was born one-hundred years ago today. April 17th doesn’t go by without my thinking about him, so even though he is not here in the flesh, today is no different except to think of the date in terms of the century’s marking it as a milestone.Although I wonder what he would look like and be like as a senior citizen, Daddy will never grow old in my eyes, because he died without warning

CONVERSATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

2010-04-04T16:33:00.000-05:00

In a conversation with a friend, she brought forth the fact that she realizes she cannot fix everything, that she has to turn it over to God in prayer, and leave it in His capable care and caring.Because I, too, am a “fixer” personality, in my mind I kept returning to that conversation and this morning as I woke with it on my mind, I thought back to my childhood. I grew up in central Maine where

THE CENTURION AT THE CROSS

2010-04-03T09:50:00.001-05:00

Because the thoughts of many are turned to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus during this season of the year, FaithWriters blog challenged the members to write a 100-word essay from the perspective of a Bible character mentioned in the Easter Story. I liked the challenge; however, even though I felt I fell short of the challenge in more than just the 100-word limit, I entered a portion

FADED FLOWERS

2010-03-29T16:36:00.003-05:00

Recently I came across some faded flowers or what some would consider flowers past their prime. By themselves the words would seem to tell tales of lack of attraction, but the more I saw of those flowers whose blooms had lost their luster, the more beauty I saw in each one.Dandelions came before spring to our West Texas yard brightening the drab gray-brown grasses with brilliant bits of leafy

IMAGES IN OUR MINDS

2010-03-23T11:42:00.000-05:00

What image enters your mind when you read or hear the following verse from I Corinthians 12:26 ? “ If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”That was one of the verses in the reading from our night’s Bible message a few evenings back and afterwards as we discussed it, I asked my husband if he, like I, chose to dwell on the