Your comments are valuable, so I will use them to improve my blogs.

 A couple of you have suggested that I shorten my blogs. Lengthy ones are sometimes hard to stay focused on and find the time to read in one sitting (might not make it back to finish). Funny thing, I wondered about this but I also had other opinions.  Now with this in mind, I decided to make adjustments that I believe will better serve all. This reminds me of my poem “Brevity of Time” in my second book.

For all of these lengthy blogs that I seem to have plenty of, I will break them up into segments, as I did with my 3-part series “Losing My Sight”. That way for the ones who need shorter versions, you won’t need to try to hang in there for the ending. 😊And for me who has more thoughts to add, I can keep writing in the next segment. Those who want to read more can continue along with me. I’m hoping that will work better for us all. So let’s give it a try again. And keep those comments coming! I do hear and appreciate you.

Since I haven’t written about Valentine’s Day, I will share with you what happened on that special day.

I didn’t get up at my usual every early morning hour. I had somewhere to go so I had to shorten my quiet time. As I sat in my favorite chair, I asked the Lord what He had for me. I knew He had something special in those few quiet moments set aside with Him. I remember He meets me where I am when I make myself available to Him.

I decided to begin with the devotional in my Jesus Always book. As I previously mentioned, those devotionals can land us right where God wants us. For me to begin my time with a devotional is not typical. I usually sing along with some praise and worship music first. But as this came together it was ideal for the quiet moments I sat in His presence. The songs came later.

My Valentine’s “gift” of the Lord’s Word for February 14^th, 2025:

For some very odd reason, I read the devotion for November 14^th, not February 14^th. But no matter the reason or the date, it was His “gift” for the day which happened to be Valentine’s Day.

It began with, “I am always with you.” How is that for getting off to a great start to the day in His Word?

Some of you may remember in my last blog I mentioned my family going through some very challenging storms in life. Some commented that you were praying for my family. I want to thank you for that. The Lord is not only hearing our prayers, but He is answering.

The devotional continued to encourage me and lift me far higher than any troubled waters my family could ever find ourselves in. He is always with us!

The verse of scripture that I grabbed onto was Isaiah 54:10 NIV “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord who has compassion on you.” As I repeated those words and looked out my window at the Ozark mountains that I live in, my peace was restored and it gave me joy. The Lord’s covenant is a blood covenant that remains forever because it was made with Jesus’s blood. Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  God’s love is an immovable foundation even when the world around us is crumbling (mountains shaken and hills removed).

I then went to YouTube to play Don Moen’s song “Thank You Lord”. But instead, a map with a warning popped up that caught my attention. The warning was a very high likelihood of a major earthquake in the New Madrid Fault line in 2025. The New Madrid fault line runs through northeast Arkansas. A major earthquake can be felt hundreds or even thousands of miles away depending on the magnitude. But God had just given me the words in Isaiah 54:10. “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed…”

I am not left to wonder why these events fell into place as they did, although they seemed odd (November 14^th devotional on February 14^th Valentine’s Day) and unusual (my atypical start in quiet time). Now was the time to sing with Don Moen “Thank You Lord” which led to the “Revelation” song with Guy Penrod.

As I am praising my Savior all day long, the icing on the cake at the end of my Valentine’s Day was that my husband brought me beautiful roses and we enjoyed a special homecooked meal together in the quiet and privacy of our blessed home.

Now we are waiting out the biggest snowstorm our area has undergone in years. I am reminded of my blog “Joy Ride With the Holy Spirit”. He displays His Sovereignty over all the land. God bless those who are less fortunate and without warm shelter. And may the Lord continue to direct us who have more to give more. For it is truly more blessed to give than receive.

In Blue Skies, Butterflies, & Battlegrounds in my final thought I wrote, “Over the period it has taken me to write the narratives of these poems, the Lord has given me so much more. Each passing day I could add to what He has taught in these messages. I could recount the repeated times He has reminded me of the lessons I have gleaned from Him”.

I guarantee you there are many more thoughts on this subject! Lol! But I will agree that sometimes less is more for the moment.

God bless you until next time and I will say again, “ Your voice matters”.

In Jesus’s name,

Reba

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