God Hears

Sing praise to our great and glorious God above
Who blesses us each day with everlasting mercy and love
Our shield and defender whenever the devil is near
But we need not fear
The devil may try to tear a family apart
But God will never depart
So they need not fret or dismay
For God will protect us each and every day

For God is with each of us
Who have Him in our heart

Those whose trust is in the Lord
Will be stronger in the valley for sure
And day by day
Every step they take
Will follow His only way

Christ is their light, like the sun's rays
To brighten up even the darkest day

So dry your tears
And let not the devil plague you with doubts and fears
Remember Your Father in Heaven hears
Your prayers will not fall on deaf ears
One day He will wipe away all your tears.

I'll Keep Smiling

Through the Grace of God I'll keep smiling
Though the trials may come
And the storm and tempest rage on
I'll keep smiling

With all the energy I have
I'll give all that I am
And through the Grace of God I'll keep smiling

With all my tears and my fears
And through all my darkest days
I will cling on to Christ
Who is the resurrection and the life
And through the Grace of God I'll keep smiling

Though I may not be the same
As I was just yesterday
Even with my disability
I will press on
I will lean on
My God, My Savior
Jesus Christ, My Heavenly Father
For everything I need
There He will always be
Always there with me
And through the Grace of God I'll keep smiling.

by: Michelle Miano

The book Joni by Joni Eareckson Tada inspired me to write this poem and I thought I would share it with you. Joni's autobiography is a wonderful testimony of how God causes all things to work together for good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose(Romans 8:28). I would highly recommend anyone struggling with trials medical or otherwise to read this book as it was a great encouragement to me... Keep smiling. He's right there beside you. :)

Proverbs 4

Proverbs 4:1-9 talks about acquiring wisdom. Listen to the instruction. Pay/give attention that you will gain understanding. He gives sound teaching. Never abandon His instruction. "Let your heart hold fast my words, keep my commandments and live." Acquire wisdom and understanding. Do not forget or turn away from the words of His mouth. Do not forsake Wisdom and she will guard you. Love her and she will watch over you. If we acquire wisdom and keep her and listen to her then she will be watching over us. The beginning of wisdom or the first step is to acquire it. And when you finally receive it then you will gain understanding. If you prize her and embrace her then she will exalt and honor you. This is a benefit of wisdom.

Proverbs 4:10-19 talks about avoiding bad company. In verse 10 like before in a previous chapter the reward is the same when listening to wisdom. "The years of your life will be many." In verse 11 and 12, Wisdom's way is an upright path, straight and level where when we walk in wisdom our steps will not be impeded nor will we stumble. "Take hold of instructions, do not let go. Guard her, for she is your live." Don't enter the path of the wicked. Avoid it, do not pass by it. Turn away from it and pass on. The evil man will not and can not sleep unless they have done evil and caused someone to stumble. In verse 18 and 19 it says but the path of the righteousness is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness. They don not know over what they stumble. Another one of wisdom's benefits is that it will be a guidance to us in the way of righteousness when we follow it.

Proverbs 4:20-27 talks about how we should watch ourselves. Solomon keeps saying "Give attention to my words. Incline your ears to my sayings." In every chapter I've read so far he always says a form of this. He wants the son who is listening to pay close attention to what he has to say and to get it through into his head. His sayings don't let them depart from your sight. Keep them in the midst of your heart. Verse 22 says they are life to those who find them, and health to all their body. More benefits of wisdom. "Watch over you heart with all diligence. Put away from your deceitful mouth and devious speech keep far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. This can be hard sometimes. I tend to look back. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right or to the left; Turn your foot from evil.

This is what I learned from reading Proverbs 4.

The Lord Gives

Throughout all of my life
I've seen how the Lord provides
In sickness and in health
His care is always there
For our Lord is not only Healer
But Great Shepherd and Protector

He leads me throughout my days
and shows me the path of the narrow and straight
and how that I may not stray.

For in His Word, in the Book of Proverbs
In the Bible which is ever true
He tell us this very thing
When we acquire wisdom
The Lord will give us in abundance
and so freely.
The amount of wisdom and guidance
That we so desperately need.
Cause we can do nothing without Him indeed.
Because as we see in Philippians 4:13
We can do all things through Christ who strengthens thee.

No strength through yourself
No strength through myself
Only strength through our Lord who gave Himself.

by Michelle Miano

Proverbs 3

Wisdom and keeping His commandments promises several rewards such as...

1. Longevity (length of days and years of life)
a) Proverbs 3:2a "For length of days and years of life"

2. Peace
a) Proverbs 3:2b "And peace they will add to you."

Proverbs 3:3 says "Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart."

According to this verse kindness and truth should be written on the tablet of our heart. Everything we think, say, and do should be done in kindness and truth. It reminds a little of the think before you act saying. Don't let it ever leave you.

3. Find favor and good repute in God's and man's sight
a) Proverbs 3:4 "So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man."

4. Guidance
a)Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Most people I would hazard to guess have this verse memorized. But do we really listen/believe that this is true? I think we can tend to forget one very small word when we are reading and saying it. This very small word has a great importance. This small word is all. It says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." All=all, everything. Not just some trust or some of your heart but all, giving Him everything, every little piece. The same goes with "In all your ways acknowledge Him." Everywhere, every time, and every step of the way. He is there to guide and direct. We need to give it ALL to Him just like this verse says.

5. Healing and refreshment
a)Proverbs 3:7-8 "Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones."

Do not be wise in your own eyes. Our eyes and our minds are deceitful. No matter how good it looks to us, God's way is always best. We can think we are being wise but since we are looking through our own eyes we can actually be really foolish and not know it at all. That is why we should always go to the Lord in prayer and ask the Lord what he would have us do. Fear the Lord and turning away from evil. You will be refreshed and your spirit renewed and have more of a yearning to walk closer with Christ.

6. Prosperity
a)Proverbs 3:9-10 "Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine."

Honor the Lord from your wealth and the first of all your produce. Immediately this reminds me of tithing. He should be getting the first of everything. Not our scraps at the end.

7. Proper response to discipline
a)Proverbs 3:11-12 "My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof, 12For whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights."

Do not reject the discipline of the Lord. Do not loathe His reproof. The Lord loves those He reproves.

Job 5:17 "Behold how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty."

The reason for discipline is shown in Hebrews 12:5-11 "and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,"MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;6FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." 7It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Just as a father who corrects his son, whom he loves; it is a means of learning as well as other things.

Wisdom from the Lord is better than anything else we can ever imagine. Better than silver or gold, precious jewels. Nothing we desire can compare to the wisdom that can only come from/given to us by God.

Wisdom will be life to your soul. With wisdom you will be able to walk securely in your way and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down you will not be afraid and your sleep will be sweet.

Proverbs 3:25-26 "Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; 26For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught."

I wonder what this sudden fear is or what it could mean? (v.25) "For the Lord will be your confidence." (v.26) God provides the confidence we need when facing the enemy and our fears.

Proverbs 3:27-28 "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it.28Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back,and tomorrow I will give it," When you have it with you."

I think children and even some young adults have problems with this idea of giving just to be nice to the other. They are wondering what they can get in return.

The Lord is intimate with the upright...

Last but not least I learned that those who are wise they will inherit honor but fools display dishonor and shame.

This is what I learned from reading Proverbs 3.

Proverbs 2

What I've learned....

Proverbs 2:6 says "For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding."

All we have to receive wisdom is to ask of God to give it to us. When we ask God then He will give to us wisdom and give it generously (in abundance)

This is seen in James 1:5 which says "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

Proverbs 2:7 says "He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,"

Shield of faith--This could be in reference to the same shield of faith in Ephesians.

Proverbs 2:10 "For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;"

This verse sounds like you can't be wise from the start. God must give you wisdom.

Proverbs 2:11-12 "Discretion will (A)guard you, Understanding will watch over you, To deliver you from the way of evil,From the man who speaks perverse things;"

Wisdom, discretion and understanding will be watching over you and help you not to fall into the ways of evil men.

It will also deliver you from the adulteress.

Proverbs 2:16-19 "To deliver you from the strange woman, From the adulteress who flatters with her words; 17 That leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God; 18 For her house sinks down to death And her tracks lead to the dead; 19 None who go to her return again, Nor do they reach the paths of life."rer

An adulteress is one who is a flatterer and unfaithful. This is breaking the seventh commandment which is "Do not commit adultery." People will follow her thinking that she will lead to pleasure. It might be pleasure for a while for them at the beginning but when they are caught in doing so... It leads to death.

This is what I've learned from reading Proverbs 2.

A Study in Proverbs.

Well I've decided to read a chapter in Proverbs each day and study on it. I thought I would try to do this every day hopefully and share with you my reflections about the chapter and what I've been learning as I study. Here goes:

Proverbs 1

The purpose of Proverbs is for the reader to know wisdom and instruction. For the naive to know prudence so that they are not easily misled or influenced as well as knowledge and discretion. From this book we should increase in learning and acquire wise counsel from the book of Proverbs.

The theme and/or motto is that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7)

It says that fools despise wisdom and instruction. When I think of this it reminds me of a child/teenager who tend to want to do anything their own way as most teenagers often do. They think they know it all and don't need advice. They want to do things their own way and tend to not care about what their parents have said is the right thing to do, being defiant of their parents. The Lord says that these people are fools. We would do better to listen to our parents counsel and would not be considered a fool in the Lord's eyes.

This is just what the Lord has shown me through the first seven verses of Proverbs 1. What a wonderful book of the Bible. Full of wisdom and instruction and good advice. If we all actually read it and not just remember it in our minds but also write it on our hearts through memorization just think how much wiser and better off we would all be if we actually did it.

The first section of verses is talking about how we(the son) should avoid bad company. Sometimes I think we can think we are in good company and end up being misled/led in the wrong direction and end up realizing later on that what we thought was great company was actually bad company. I have seen this play out in one of my sisters life last year and because of that company there was strife in the home. There no longer is that strife as there once was because through certain events she realized that she wasn't in as great group of company that she thought.

Proverbs 1:8 says "Hear my son, your father's instruction, And do not forsake you mother's teaching."

This verse seems to talk a lot about obedience. Always be listening to your parents for they are much wiser than you and have more experience then you've had as well. When I see the word "Hear" in this verse, I think it means listen, pay close attention to, and obey.

Proverbs 1:10 says "My son if sinners entice you, Do not consent."

The way of sinners make look attractive but we should not listen to them because the path they walk on only leads to destruction. We may gain momentary pleasure from it but is that what really matters? To be happy and have pleasure in this life? No of course not!

Mark 8:36 says "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?"

It profits him nothing. He can not profit anything in comparison to eternal life and salvation.

Another thing that Proverbs 1:10 made me think of was that we should never compromise our convictions. Though a lot of times we as followers of Christ can do that. People can compromise their convictions all the time. It isn't that hard to do. People pressured by their friends can be led to compromise their convictions to do something that they would not normally like to do or not feel comfortable or good doing. Stand by your convictions and never compromise your faith and/or convictions for anything.

"My son do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, For their feet run to evil,"

The main thing in verses 20-33 is to always heed wisdom's advice. The first five verses in this section remind me of an open air preacher.

Proverbs 1:20-25 says:
20Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;
21At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
22"How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools hate knowledge?
23"Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24"Because I called and you refused,
I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25And you neglected all my counsel
And did not want my reproof;

This reminds me very much of an open air preacher but in this case it is not a man who is called wisdom but a lady who is wisdom. I find this to be interesting because there are some people that would say and think that women shouldn't be preaching in the open air. I disagree and think these verses could be an example to lady's open airing. This is just what I think based off what I see in these five short verses but will have to study about this more for I am growing and maturing in my faith. Only 9 years old in my faith currently.

So this is what I have learned and gleaned in just the first chapter in Proverbs. A total of only 33 verses. I hope this has caused you to think and will spur you on to studying God's Word more.

I can't wait to share with you what I learn and glean from the rest of the chapters in Proverbs.