On Saturday December 22, 2007 I was home and recovering from injuries from the car accident on Tuesday. Again God came through with the timely encouragement I needed that day. This is the devotional that appeared in my email that morning. It is from Faith's Checkbook by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Immediately Present

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

A help that is not present when we need it is of small value. The anchor which is left at home is of no use to the seaman in the hour of storm; the money which he used to have is of no worth to the debtor when a writ is out against him. Very few earthly helps could be called "very present": they are usually far in the seeking, far in the using, and farther still when once used. But as for the Lord our God, He is present when we seek Him, present when we need Him, and present when we have already enjoyed His aid.

He is more than "present," He is very present. More present than the nearest friend can be, for He is in us in our trouble; more present than we are to ourselves, for sometimes we lack presence of mind. He is always present, effectually present, sympathetically present, altogether present. He is present now if this is a gloomy season. Let us rest ourselves upon Him. He is our refuge, let us hide in Him; He is our
strength, let us array ourselves with Him; He is our help, let us lean upon Him; He is our very present help, let us repose in Him now. We need not have a moment's care or an instant's fear. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."

So many times in my life God has brought a timely bit of encouragement to me. It could be from a sermon, a song, a devotional, anywhere. Some would view these encounters with God's encouragement as simply coincidence. But I know that there are too many times that these encounters have happened for them to be coincidence.

On late Tuesday night, a week before Christmas 2007, my husband and I were in a terrible car accident. Thankfully we are now healed up, but that night I was shaken to the core. I knew that I very nearly lost my life that night. In spite of my injuries no bones were broken. The following morning, this devotional appeared in my email inbox. It is from Faith's Checkbook by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

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Afflictions, But No Broken Bones

He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken. (Psalm 34:20)

This promise by the context is referred to the much afflicted righteous man: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." He may suffer skin wounds and flesh wounds, but no great harm shall be done; "not a bone of him shall be broken."

This is great comfort to a tried child of God, and comfort which I dare accept; for up to this hour I have suffered no real damage from my many afflictions. I have neither lost faith, nor hope, nor love. Nay so far from losing these bones of character, they have gained in strength and energy. I have more knowledge, more experience, more patience, more stability than I had before the trials came. Not even my joy has been destroyed. Many a bruise have I had by sickness, bereavement, depression, slander, and opposition; but the bruise has healed, and there has been no compound fracture of a bone, not even a
simple one. The reason is not far to seek. If we trust in the Lord, He keeps all our bones; and if He keeps them, we may be sure that not one of them is broken.

Come, my heart, do not sorrow. Thou art smarting, but there are no bones broken. Endure hardness and bid defiance to fear.

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

What a word is this! Jehovah God in the center of His people in all the majesty of His power! This presence alone suffices to inspire us with peace and hope. Treasures of boundless might are stored in our Jehovah, and He dwells in His church; therefore may His people shout for joy.

We not only have His presence, but He is engaged upon His choice work of salvation. "He will save." He is always saving: He takes His name of Jesus from it. Let us not fear any danger, for He is mighty to save.

Nor is this all. He abides evermore the same, He saves, He finds rest in loving, He will not cease to love. His love gives Him joy. He even finds a theme for song in His beloved. This is exceedingly wonderful. When God wrought creation He did not sing but simply said, "It is very good"; but when He came to redemption, then the sacred Trinity felt a joy to be expressed in song. Think of it, and be astonished! Jehovah Jesus sings a marriage song over His chosen bride. She is to Him His love, His joy, His rest, His song. O Lord Jesus, by Thine immeasurable love to us teach us to love Thee, to rejoice in Thee,
and to sing unto Thee our life-psalm.

From Faith's Checkbook by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord. (Hosea 6:3)

Not all at once, but by degrees shall we attain to holy knowledge, and our business is to persevere and learn by little and little. We need not despair, though our progress may be slow, for we shall yet know. The Lord, who has become our Teacher, will not give us up, however slow of understanding we may be; for it is not for His honor that any degree of human folly should baffle His skill. The Lord delights to make the simple wise.

Our duty is to keep to our main topic and follow on to know, not this peculiar doctrine nor that, but Jehovah Himself. To know Father, Son, and Spirit, the Triune God, this is life eternal. Let us keep to this, for in this way we shall gain complete instruction. By following on to know the Lord, we learn healing after being torn, binding up after smiting, and life after death. Experience has its perfect work when the heart follows the trackway of the almighty Lord.

My soul, keep thou close to Jesus, follow on to know God in Jesus, and so shalt thou come to the knowledge of Christ, which is the most excellent of all the sciences. The Holy Ghost will lead thee into all truth. Is not this His gracious office? Rely upon Him to fulfill it.

From Faith's Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon

Their soul shall be as a watered garden. (Jeremiah 31:12)

Oh, to have one's soul under heavenly cultivation; no longer a wilderness but a garden of the Lord! Enclosed from the waste, walled around by grace, planted by instruction, visited by love, weeded by heavenly discipline, and guarded by divine power, one's favored soul is prepared to yield fruit unto the Lord.

But a garden may become parched for want of water, and then all its herbs decline and are ready to die. O my soul, how soon would this be the case were the Lord to leave thee! In the East, a garden without water soon ceases to be a garden at all: nothing can come to perfection, grow, or even live. When irrigation is kept up, the result is charming. Oh, to have one's soul watered by the Holy Spirit uniformly--every part of the garden having its own stream; plentifully--a sufficient refreshment coming to every tree and herb, however thirsty by nature it may be; continually--each hour bringing not only its heat, but its refreshment; wisely--each plant receiving just what it needs. In a garden you can see by the verdure where the water flows, and you can soon perceive when the Spirit of God comes.

O Lord, water me this day and cause me to yield Thee a full reward for Jesus' sake. Amen.

From Faith's Checkbook by Charles H. Spurgeon

Here is an update email I received from a friend about this mom and baby. Please see previous entry for details:

Good morning!
I just wanted to give ya'll an update on my pregnant friend, Tara.  She went to another hospital and they were much more co-operative with her.  She has to stay in the hospital until she is 6 months and then they will take the baby.  They said the baby should be able to make it at 6 months.  So far everything seems to be ok.  Thanks for praying!
Love,
Tracy

I found a pair of socks.

Maybe Mom will go out on a bike ride.

Lions in zoos eat flesh.

Don't break the glass Jo.

Mom and Dad will scold Jo.

Don't scare me like that!

You don't need a scarf.

John, you can twirl the top.

Here is an email I received from a friend of mine. Please pray for this young mother and her preborn baby.

"Hello, everyone! I have an urgent/important prayer request that I am asking you to pray with us about. A friend of mine from Berean (our church in GA) is pregnant. She is due in December. She was bleeding for a couple of months of the pregnancy, but the doctors said everything from the ultrasound and all looked fine. They told her the bleeding was ok- that it happened sometimes during a pregnancy. The baby was going to be a big baby compared to her last one, but everything was going fine. Well, this morning about 1:00 she started hurting very badly. They took her to the hospital. She was told the baby didn't have enough fluid and they needed to take the baby "because it was going to die anyway". She refused to give up on God and her baby boy. She was tranported to another hospital that could handle the situation better. She and her husband are scared, sad, and every other emotion imaginable. Please pray that God will give them peace with whatever happens. Their names are Terry and Tara Heath.
Thank you for taking the time to pray for them. Love, Tracy Hull"

Owlhaven is hosting a Free Lands End Backpack Giveaway. Please see her blog for details. But hurry, the contest ends today!

Hey everybody, my name is Penguinman, son of Gracefilled Woman Warrior. I just got back from The Wilds, a camp in North Carolina, and had a blast. A decision that I made there was to dedicate my life to full-time Christian ministry. I have started reading a book by William Fay called Sharing Jesus Without Fear. I have learned a lot and would recommend it to anyone. I also had a great time at the Wilds doing all the things that they had there. If anyone has any questions about The Wilds or anything else then just ask!

Penguinman

These are the sentences I wrote for spelling today.

I found a pair of socks.
My mom said maybe we could go to the park.
The lion ripped off the flesh.
Where is the brass plate?
Don't break my heart please.
Let John live his dream.

Opie

Have you ever discovered your spiritual gifts? Ephesians Four Ministries offers a free online spiritual gifts analysis. Take a look when you have a moment.

I came across a nifty little site from Walden Media which has free Educator’s Guides for movies like the Chronicles of Narnia movies and Nim’s Island. They also provide teaching materials for Around the World in 80 Days, Because of Winn Dixie, Charlotte’s Web, and many other movies. Check it out when you have a chance.

For those of you helping your kids with their multiplication tables this summer, here is some help. Percy Parker has a couple of really snappy tunes to help with your six table and your tens tables. Also, You Tube has the old Schoolhouse Rock multiplication songs. Opie has been enjoying I Got Six, Lucky Seven Sampson, and Figure Eight. Do you remember these from Saturday morning cartoons? Or am I showing my age!

Hi. My screen name is Opie. I am not good at making stories. My favorite subject is History. My favorite book series is Redwall.

Hello. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Grace-filled Woman Warrior. Well, that is the meaning of my name anyway. I am the wife to my beloved husband and mother to two children. We live in the Southeastern United States. My husband works from home. I am at home taking care of my mother who has terminal cancer and also homeschooling my youngest child. This is our family’s first adventure into blogging so we are having fun learning and playing with this thing together. My husband and kids will be making guest appearances here from time to time. I have heard that blogging encourages children with their writing skills so I am looking forward to seeing the fruit of that. Thank you for looking at my blog. Please put my page into your favorites and come and visit often.