{"id":2763,"date":"2014-01-12T14:58:04","date_gmt":"2014-01-12T14:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=2763"},"modified":"2014-01-12T14:58:04","modified_gmt":"2014-01-12T14:58:04","slug":"today-is-the-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=2763","title":{"rendered":"Today is the Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here we are, nearly two weeks into the New Year and January is nearly half over. It\u2019s hard to believe that times flies by as quickly as it does.<\/p>\n

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Today, I believe God is reminding me that I cannot take anything for granted. Especially not time. Wasted time doing meaningless things will keep me so preoccupied that I won\u2019t have time for the important things that need doing.<\/p>\n

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So I believe there are some meaningless activities that I need to weed out. It\u2019s a good time to start, at the beginning of this New Year.<\/p>\n

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Perhaps there is something you need to weed out as well. Perhaps you need to focus more on God than a meaningless activity. If so, let\u2019s do this together. Let\u2019s spend less time on a meaningless activity and more time in God\u2019s presence (Bible reading, prayer, worship). I know by doing so that we will make the most of 2014.<\/p>\n

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The post I share with you today is about one of my favorite restaurants. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

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A Chicken Farm<\/b><\/p>\n

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I have a favorite restaurant here in Colorado. They serve fried chicken that is moist and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. There is also kidney bean salad, pickled beets, cottage cheese, coleslaw and corn fritters served family style and unlimited. And don\u2019t forget the shops, a petting zoo, and live music throughout the week.<\/p>\n

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\"whitefencefarm.com\"<\/a>

whitefencefarm.com<\/p><\/div>\n

There are two problems however, I have with this restaurant. First, it is pretty far from where we live and there is really no reason to be \u201cpassing by.\u201d It takes at least 45 minutes to get there. So a planned trip to dine on this delectable fair is a must.<\/p>\n

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The second problem is that they close down the restaurant for the whole month of January. With my birthday in January, my favorite restaurant is always off the list for a place to celebrate. How disappointing!<\/p>\n

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The good news? The restaurant is still open 11 months of the year and we make several trips during those 11 months to get our fill of this great food.<\/p>\n

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More good news? God doesn\u2019t take time off from caring about you and me. He is always there when we need Him\u2026and when we think we don\u2019t need Him.<\/p>\n

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Just read through some of the promises found in Scripture to gain a deeper understanding of how God will always be there for us. He is an amazing God!<\/p>\n

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In the Old Testament we find God reminding His people of His dedication to them. God promised to be with them. And He always kept His promise. We can believe that when God promises to be with us, we know He will be.<\/p>\n

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The Hebrew nation received word of this promise as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land. Not only was God with them (Deuteronomy 31:6), but they were assured by Moses that God was going before them. \u201cThe Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said.\u201d <\/i>(Deuteronomy 31:3 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n

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Joshua also received this promise as he prepared to take over leadership of this great nation. \u201cNo one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.\u201d <\/i>(Joshua 1:5 \u2013 NIV) With God on his side, Joshua certainly had nothing to fear.<\/p>\n

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King David assured his son, Solomon, that just as God had been with him through his life, God would be with Solomon as he ruled Israel (1 Chronicles 28:20).<\/p>\n

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David also shared some of his feelings through the Book of Psalm. How God was with him each step of the way. We can be assured that God will be with us, just as He was with David.<\/p>\n

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God was with David as he dealt with the pain of death. In Psalm 23:4 (NIV), David shared his assurance of this fact. \u201cEven though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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David also assured others that God would be there continuously. Psalm 121:3-4 (NIV) says, \u201cHe will not let your foot slip\u2014he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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In Psalm 139:7-12, David stated that he could not hide from God\u2019s Spirit. Wherever he went, God was with him. Whatever situation he faced, God was there.<\/p>\n

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Isaiah proclaimed to Israel that God would be there for them in Isaiah 41. Throughout this chapter, God recounts His actions. What He had accomplished and would accomplish through Israel. And God also declared, \u201cDo not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.\u201d <\/i>(Isaiah 41:10 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n

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In the New Testament, we see more promises of God\u2019s presence. Jesus, speaking to His disciples, told them, \u201cAnd surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.\u201d<\/i> (Matthew 28:20b \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n

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We find in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 that God will be with us to comfort us. Just as we have been comforted by God, we are then able to comfort others.<\/p>\n

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And we see in the Book of Hebrews a reminder of God\u2019s words. \u201cKeep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, \u2018Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.\u2019\u201d <\/i>(Hebrews 13:5 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n

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God will be with us. We never have to wait for Him to return from vacation or re-appear after a break. We can hold onto the promise that God is with us.<\/p>\n

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There are more Scripture about this particular promise from God. Do you have a favorite? What verse speaks to you and assures you that God is always with you? What passage do you grip tightly when everything seems to falling apart around you? I would love to hear what you have to say.<\/p>\n

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The restaurant, White Fence Farm, will continue to be on my \u201cI cannot wait until February\u201d list. Just as sure as I know that, I know that God has been and will be with me through it all.<\/p>\n

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He\u2019s been with me through the rough times. He\u2019s been with me through the rebellious times. He\u2019s been with me through the joyous times. And He isn\u2019t going to stop for all eternity. God is so faithful. And for His faithfulness, I\u2019m eternally grateful.<\/p>\n

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Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Donna<\/p>\n

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EPILOGUE: My husband and I went to White Fence Farm in December. It was the last weekend the restaurant was open before their close in January for a month. Their Christmas decorations filled each area of the restaurant, shops and waiting areas. The snow began to fall as we waited. It was very beautiful. We waited for over an hour to get our table, but the meal was well-worth the wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here we are, nearly two weeks into the New Year and January is nearly half over. It\u2019s hard to believe that times flies by as quickly as it does.   Today, I believe God is reminding me that I cannot take anything for granted. Especially not time. Wasted time doing meaningless things will keep me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,21],"tags":[1704,1708,1702,348,1691,1703,347,1701,1706,1707,1705,1699,1700],"class_list":["post-2763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-believing-god","category-trusting-god","tag-1-chronicles-2820","tag-2-corinthians-13-5","tag-deuteronomy-313","tag-hebrews-135","tag-isaiah-4110","tag-joshua-15","tag-matthew-2820","tag-new-year","tag-psalm-1213-4","tag-psalm-1397-12","tag-psalm-234","tag-today-is-the-day","tag-white-fence-farm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2763"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2765,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2763\/revisions\/2765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}