Love Letters to the Lord - Letter 4

 

Dear Lord,

I love it when You teach me new thing in scripture passages that are familiar to me. This morning, You took me to Matthew chapter 5, the Sermon on the Mount. 

I always thought that when You spoke about the many different "blessed areas" that they were many different types of people and the things that made them blessed in Your sight. But, this morning, I saw a different way - probably the very way - that You intended us to view these blessed people. This passage is Your portrait of how You view ALL of your children ... how You want us to view ourselves. They aren't many different people, but different aspects - different facets - You intend each of us to exhibit. So Lord, I want to quote back to You showed me that I could and should be.

Matthew 5:1-13 - as I read it;

 When Y'shua saw that His teachings were drawing large crowds, He and His disciples climbed up a hillside. When He reached a natural amphitheater dotted with trees, He sat down and taught all that had followed Him there. This is what He taught:

 When you have reached a spiritual drought, remember that you can be joyful, filled with the Joy of the Lord; because when you have run out of options, God will show you His Kingdom plan for that moment.

 When you are mourning the loss of a loved one, remember that, even now, you can be full of My Joy; because you will always have The One you love most there to wrap His arms around you and your arms around HIm in your sorrow.

 When you have found your contentment in Me, you are filled with My Joy; for you have found your balance point for a Spirit-filled life ... a life filled with My plans, My purposes and the Fruit of My Spirit flowing out from your daily walk.

 When you are continuously hungry for more of My Righteousness ... more of Me, when you thirst for deeper wells of My peace - for the New Wine of My Spirit, you are filled with My joy; for only I can satisfy your desires for more. And satisfy you, I will!

 When you express My tender mercy and loving kindness, you are filled with My Joy; for you know that I have showered My loving kindness and mercy on you, and I will continue to do so and you do likewise.

 When you teach others to walk in My perfect Shalom (a life without chaos, that lacks nothing), you are filled with My Joy; for those around you will see that you are truly a child of The King - My child.

 When you are persecuted for doing what is Right, remember that you can be filled with My Joy; for you are living in My Kingdom here and now on this earth. Your commitment to My Ways through the hard times drives you long for more closeness to Me and My Kingdom.

 Be filled with My Joy whenever you are put down, when others - who are outside the Family - throw you out, slander your character speaking all kinds of evil about you because of your love for Me. Jump for Joy, because I will reward you greatly for all of your faithfulness. Remember that al of the prophets were also treated like this, so you are in fine company.

 You, My children, are the salt that seasons the lives around you, that bring them robust flavor. When you lose sight of all the ways that you can find My Joy, you actually become tasteless; how can that flavor be returned to your life? Life without the flavor you can bring to it is worthless; it will cause you be thrown out into the street for those around you to trampled upon. So find your TRUE Joy in Me and keep your focus - keep your eyes centered on ME!

Lord, thank You for showing me how I should be looking at life to find Your Joy. Help me to live in it as I walk through my daily life ... today, tomorrow and Always.

Your loving daughter,

Leigh

All The Way With Jesus

Though life's storms may batter me

And their flood water's deluge

I have a firm foundation

I am founded, my Lord, in You

You are the solid Rock

The High Place upon which I stand

I seek no other refuge

For I'm holding onto Your hand

We walk together in the daylight

And in the darkness, too

For You are the Light of Life

I draw my strength from You

When the times are difficult

And I seem in dread defeat

I will press in a little closer

Ever sitting at Your feet

You are always here to guide me

To teach me all Your Truth

No, You never will forsake me

While I dwell in You

When this day has ended

And time is no more

We will ever be Best Friended

As we walk along Heaven's shore

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8, NKJV

Leigh

3-26-2019

Finding Joy In Light of Events Soon to Come

“...Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper! You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Psalms 30:10-12, NKJV”

As many of you know, I traveled east with my oldest brother, Dave, last summer and fall so that I could visit with my mom and youngest brother, Kenn in Tennessee and then attend my grandson’s wedding in Kentucky in late September. I arrived back in Carson City, Nevada October 4^th.

In early November the Lord started telling me that I needed to go back to Tennessee because my little brother was dying of liver cancer. I knew that God was right, I needed to go, but I had no funds to pay the way and my RV van conversion was in need of some major repairs to make it roadworthy once more. So I began praying and preparing for this new chapter of my life. He didn’t give me a “leave by” date, so I planned for a spring departure in early April so that I could be there by my birthday on the 21^st. This would give me time to save some money to have the repairs done on the van and stock it with all the necessities of life for the trip.

Well, April came and went without bringing the funds needed for the trip east, so I continued to wait, pray and prepare. God had supplied the money needed to fix the van in early December, so I kept busy going through my things, deciding what I needed to take and what could be given away and stored for later.

December also lent itself to my seeking help from our local U.S. Senator to get my long-awaited Disability back pay released to me to finance my trip. With the help of Catherine Cortez Masto's office, I received this payment in mid-May … nearly two years after having been awarded my Social Security Disability. So I started making plans in earnest to leave Nevada for Tennessee. I set the date for Sunday afternoon, May 20^th, after church and our fellowship lunch.

I was able to travel through places I had never been and spend time with a friend in Branson, MO, too. I loved the time spent with Tina and the kids. I was blessed with a home cooked meal, shower and a comfortable bed in their home Friday, May 25th. The trip took me a week, I arrived at mom and Kenn’s home on Sunday afternoon, May 27^th.

I have been here helping mom with the house and meeting Kenn’s needs for nearly two months now. I am working on finding my place in the community and the local body of believers. But God is very, VERY good. He gives me songs in the night and eases my mind.

This morning, July 17, 2018, my mother shared with me her prayers for Kenn. She said that she has been praying that if God was going to heal him, to do it soon. But if not, to let him begin his rest and be at peace. Listening to her, I thought of my recent prayers. Mine centered on her. I have been asking the Lord to give my mom peace and comfort.

This afternoon, as I was running some errands in town, I prayed again for my mother. I prayed that the Lord hear and answer her prayers and give her peace and rest.

This evening, as I was doing my daily Bible reading in [Isaiah 51:1-Isaiah 54:3, I couldn’t read these verses without singing the choruses contained therein.

As music is a part of my very being, I couldn’t help myself … I sang what I heard echoed deep in my soul and my heart filled with Great Joy in Jesus my Lord. The songs in this portion of the book of Isaiah [Therefore the Redeemed of the Lord, Put on the Garment of Praise, and Our God Reigns] and one not found in these chapters, but is a theme that runs throughout the Bible [Arise and Sing, you Children of Zion] are still ringing in my ears, especially the last one. Let me share those words with you:

                                    Arise and sing, you Children of Zion

                                    For the Lord has delivered thee.

                                    Arise and sing, you Children of Zion

                                    For the Lord has delivered thee.

                                    Open up your hearts and rejoice before Him

                                    Open up your hearts and rejoice before Him

                                    Open up your hearts and rejoice before Him

                                    For the King is our God!

 

It was in the singing of these scriptures that I felt God impress upon me that it was time. Time to let Him turn my mourning into His precious joy.

After reading the words and letting them flow through my mind, through my soul, way down deep into my very heart of hearts – into the very throne room where Jesus reigns; how could I allow sorrow and mourning back in?

The passage in Psalms that I quoted above states that He, Jesus, turns our mourning into dancing. He has ripped off our “sackcloth” and clothed us in His joy and gladness. But, He can’t do these things if we tie His hands up in our grief. We have to “let Him in.” We have to allow Him to access to our grief, pain, and suffering so that He can share the burden and give us His peace (Ephesians 2:14) and rest (Deuteronomy 5:14, Matthew 11:28-30).

Have you ever thought about the words Matthew used in the passage I referenced above? I have. Let me share a few things I have learned from this setting of scripture:

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30, KJV.

Jesus is calling all those who labor under a heavy load or burden to ‘take up His yoke.’ So what is a yoke and how do you take it up? In agricultural cultures, before mechanized farm equipment was invented, farmers used teams of cattle, horses, or mules to pull their plow and other equipment used to prepare their fields for growing crops. They would place them in pairs, hooked together with a yoke. Jesus is asking us to share OUR load … OUR burden with Him.

When farming was so primitive, and a farmer bought a new ox, etc. to pull his plow, he would yoke an older animal to the new one so that it would learn how to read the farmer’s signals from the older animal’s experience. Thus, Jesus, our Head Shepherd, has requested that we take up our position in His yoke so that we can learn from Him our position in the team and how to ‘hear’ the Father’s signals and commands.

When we walk with Jesus as our teacher and yoke mate, we have opened our hearts to hear from the Father all that He wants us to know. We also allow His joy to lift our burden and lighten our hearts and minds … thus our mourning can now be turned into dancing and He is able to clothe us in His Great Joy. Yoked together with Jesus we can …

            Break forth into joy, oh my soul

            Break forth into joy, oh my soul

            In the presence of the Lord, there is joy forevermore

            Break forth, break forth into joy, oh my soul!

AND

            God has turned my mourning into dancing for me

            God has taken my sackcloth

            God has turned my mourning into dancing for me

            I will ever praise His name.

Yes, as Solomon once said,

“To every thing, there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance …” Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, KJV

As David said in Psalm 30:12, NKJV, “To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever. “

So when your burden is heavy, take the time to mourn. But remember Jesus is waiting for you to take up His yoke and allow Him to help you to shoulder your load. He will lighten the burden and turn your mourning into dancing, filling your heart with His great Joy in the process!

Wednesday ... To Laguna Pueblo and Beyond

Tuesday night, after fueling the van and generator, I camped in the truck parking lot at the Acoma Pueblo truck stop, hoping to re-visit Laguna Pueblo this morning before actually starting today's adventure. When I reached the turnoff, however, I found that the overlook that Dave and I had stopped at on our last trip through this area was closed for maintenance and repairs. So gathering more pictures and information for another writing project was not possible at this time ... maybe on my return trip.

So I pointed the van towards Tucumcari, New Mexico, and my next fuel stop. The scenery on today's leg of the trip was gorgeous. All of the colorful rock formations and desert low lands would have made beautiful pictures. Unfortunately, my phone was telling me that the memory was full and pictures could not be saved. The memory was full? I had put a 128 GB micro SD card in it just before I left, how could it be full? Sorry, no more pictures this trip.  :-(   I think I will ask KJ, my nephew, how to correct this memory issue.

I didn't get as far as I had planned on today's leg of the trip; the weather wouldn't allow it. The day started out sunny and bright, but by the time I had reached Tucumcari, the clouds had gathered, thick and dark ... almost as dark as just after sunset. Clouds were OK, they kept the van's engine cool, but the atmosphere nearly melancholy.

As I approached Amarillo, TX, I had been through one major downpour and the sky looked as if it were priming for another round. As it was nearly 4:00 pm local time I started looking for a place to spend the night. As I left Amarillo, another deluge began which took nearly all my visibility. Lasting about 20 minutes, it quit just as quickly as it had begun. And I thanked God profusely for the clearing skies.

Just then I came around a huge curve in the road. Off the left shoulder was an eighteen wheeler laying on its side. It looked as if it had been gently picked up and laid there... except for all of the emergency vehicles that were rapidly joining the scene. For the rest of the time I was on the road this day, I prayed for the driver of that truck and any passengers he may have had with him. I also thanked God for my safety since I had been on my journey. Our God is SOOOO good!

About 20 minutes after passing this truck wreck the sky was looking thick and gloomy once more. That's when I saw the sign for a 'picnic area' a mile up the road. It seems that the roadside rest areas that are common in California and Nevada aren't in other states. But throughout Texas and Oklahoma, they have Picnic Areas. These are roadside pull-offs that provided picnic tables and trash cans. No restrooms or drinking fountains.

At this particular picnic area several trucks that had pulled off and were settling in for the night. I parked the van and got out to speak to one of the drivers that was setting up orange cones around his rig.

"Sir, do you think anyone will mind if I park here overnight?" I asked.

"No, Ma'am," He replied. " that is just what we plan to do, too."

Saying thank you to him, I set about preparing to start the generator and settle in for the night.

Having tucked us in for the evening, I will leave you here in the picnic area east of Amarillo, TX until tomorrow.

Good Night!

Grammy Leigh’s Amazing Adventure!

**Sorry, I couldn't find the pics that go with this segment. I will add them later.**

I, and my furry family, left Dayton, NV about 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. It was a mostly cloudy day and the road was about as busy as a lazy, spring afternoon should be. We made it to Tonopah, NV about 5:00 and gassed up the van and the gas cans for the generator and immediately left out for what was to be a blissful even camping beside the hot springs at Alkali Flat.

I said ‘supposed to be’ as it seems that the Flat, and the hot springs, had disappeared in a dust storm … LOL! Well, probably not! But my phone was dead and my directions were hidden deep inside its circuitry. I took ‘the road less traveled’ that headed toward the Flat for about 15 miles, no Hot Spring in sight. And as I was in uncharted territory, I headed back toward Hwy 95 South toward Las Vegas. We ‘camped’ in the truck parking lot, across from Denny’s, in Beatty, NV. And there ended our first day on this road trip.

I awoke Monday morning – very dark and VERY early – to my mattress laying flat against the platform. It seems that my three-legged cat, Hop-Along Catsity – or Hop for short, had popped it once again. So much for a NEW Airbed … it would have to be replaced while I was in Las Vegas later in the day.

The day ahead looked gray and cloudy – at least the weather did. But the open road beckoned me on, so we mounted up and headed out. First stop, Fort Armargosa and coffee. It was a brief stop and the coffee was tasty. Now, onward ho!

I arrived in Las Vegas about 9:00 am, seeking a place to buy a ‘non-air’ mattress. I stopped at a mattress store and told the salesman what I was looking for and that my funds were very limited. He gave me an AWESOME deal on the mattress, just $2 over cost – over $400 savings. Praise God! I made a couple of other stops then met my cousin, Mary Morton Keum, at a local restaurant for dinner. I had planned to treat her, but God had a different plan – she bought me dinner. We talked for a good long while over our plates of food. I would have loved to spend more time chatting, but the open road was calling me on and the shadows were quickly turning into darkness in the skies above. So we hugged and said our goodbyes – wished I had taken some pictures. Oh well, next time. And there will be a next time as she gave me an open invitation to stop and park a while at her place in the future.

We traveled on down Hwy 93 to Boulder City and the Hoover Dam Lodge Overflow for our second night of camping. This ‘campground’ was also a truck parking lot, just across the street from … you guessed it, Hoover Dam Lodge. Well, it is now nearly 7:00 am, and I still need to have breakfast and break camp, so I will close …

It’s time to be … ‘on the road again. I just can’t wait to be on the road again …’ more of this adventure to come in the days ahead!

A Trip Eastward - Tennessee or Bust!

Sis. Leigh and Barnabas ready yo depart.

Hi, all.

I have been in the planning an preparing stages for a trip to visit my family in Tennessee and Kentucky for some time. I have felt since Christmas that I was to make this journey, but lacked the funds to do so. But the planning and preparing were to continue until the Lord made the funds available; now He has.

The necessary funds, my back pay from Social Security Disability, were deposited into my bank account on Wednesday, May 9th. I was awarded my Disability in September of 2016. It was approved to start in January of that year, but there is a five month waiting period before benefits begin. So my benefits were to begin June 3, 2016, thus the reason for the SSA owing me three months back pay (June, July, and August of 2016).  I was told by the Reno SSA office that it should be about 90 days from the date of the first payment I received before I would get that back pay.

I received my first payment October 2016, and so thought I would have my back pay by January 2017. No Joy! I have waited 16 months beyond that expected payment date.

There have been many things that I needed to purchase - i.e. a generator as the one in the van wouldn't run, gas cans for taking generator fuel, etc. But now all is purchased and the van nearly loaded. So my departure is nearly on the horizon.

I am bringing a couple of furry, four-legged friends along for the ride; no loneliness here!

I plan to pull out of Mound House, Nevada on Sunday afternoon, right after our fellowship lunch after Sunday's church service. I have posted a copy of my Itinerary below. And I plan to post here each evening as I travel across the country. This is an approximate Itinerary as I have sent out letters of introduction to several of our AB of C sister churches so that I may share God's word as I travel ... God willing!

Stay tuned here for further updates!

Tennessee Trip Itinerary

 Dear Family and Friends,

My plans are subject to change at any time, especially from May 24th on as I have sent requests to speak at several churches in Arkansas and Missouri. I will post updates on my website, HippyInHisService.com, and my Facebook page, Grammys Gems.

Please contact me if you have any questions about my itinerary me at:

leigh.morton@writeme.com

Leigh Morton

A Hippy in His Service

… and yours!

Sunday, May 20, 2018:

Carson City to Tonopah

Camp: Tonopah, NV

Alkali Hot Springs Campground

Monday, May 21

Tonopah to Hoover Dam, NV

Rest Stop: Las Vegas, NV

Dinner: Sweet Tomatoes

9460 W Flamingo Rd, LV, NV 89147

Camp: Hoover Dam Lodge Overflow

            Boulder City, NV

Tuesday, May 22

Hoover Dam to Grants, NM

Rest Stop: Flagstaff, AZ

Dinner/Camp: Grants/Laguna Pueblo

Wednesday, May 23

Grants, NM to Elk City, OK

Rest Stop: Tucumcari, NM

Dinner/Camp: Elk City, OK

            Elk City Lake Park

Thursday, May 24    

Elk City to Hot Springs AR

Rest Stop: OKC

Camp: Cedar Glades Park

            Hot Springs, AR

Friday, May 25

Hot Springs, AR to Branson, MO

Rest Stop: Clinton, AR

Camp: Branson, MO

            With Tina Stottle

Saturday, May 26

Branson to Neelyville, MO

Rest Stop: Willow Springs, MO

Camp: Beaver Lake

Church Sunday in Neelyville, MO.

Dear Friends at Coon Island Pentecostal Church,

I would love to take time off the road here to speak with your congregation as I travel through your area. Otherwise, I will be staying in Shelbyville, TN for several months. This is only a few hours journey from you and I would be glad to make time in my schedule to accommodate your scheduling needs.

                                                           

Monday, May 28

Neelyville, MO to Shelbyville, TN

Rest Stop: Nashville

End of Road - for now: Shelbyville, TN