Celebrating My 4th Blogiversary!
As you read this post of the Morethanuseless Blog it is a really BIG day! On this date 4 years ago, I posted my very first blog! I was surprised when I checked it out that this is actually my 1,000th post! What better way to celebrate my 4th Blogiversary!
Here are a few statistics (I love statistics!). Altogether I have had over 32,198 views representing 16,132 visitors from 125 countries across the globe! (Only 70 more to go!) I’ve included a list below with the number of views per country if you’d like to check it out.
I am regularly amazed at how far reaching it is. I don’t have a huge number of official followers between email and Facebook subscribers but to think that over 16,000 people from all walks of life have interacted in some way just blows me away!
Only the Lord knows how many hearts have been touched. Some may have just done a random search on some word or topic and then clicked on a link to the blog but I am a firm believer that even those are God’s way of reaching out to those who don’t know Him, allowing the seed to be planted for which He is caring. I am just a tool in the Master’s hands.
In 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 the Apostle Paul states
I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos [another well-respected teacher] watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. (NLT)
I feel privileged to be used by God to share His glorious Great News – that is, the Gospel!
For those who are able, please pass the posts along – share them on Facebook, pin favorites to your Pinterest boards, forward email posts to those who might benefit from them! If something you read touches your heart it may touch the heart of another. Follow the Spirit’s leading, if He prompts you to do so.
Also, pray for those who read the blog. Some read it for regular encouragement. Other’s may be drawn in by a picture or a title. Pray that the Lord will find receptive hearts in which the seed can grow.
Thank you all for your continued support. May the Lord bless you in your walk with Him. May you draw closer to His side each day!
June 16th, 2019, Sunday, 10:06 pm
| Albania | 4 |
| Algeria | 5 |
| American Samoa | 38 |
| Argentina | 23 |
| Australia | 135 |
| Austria | 8 |
| Azerbaijan | 1 |
| Bahamas | 1 |
| Bangladesh | 5 |
| Belarus | 1 |
| Belgium | 10 |
| Benin | 2 |
| Bolivia | 1 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 4 |
| Botswana | 1 |
| Brazil | 275 |
| Bulgaria | 15 |
| Cambodia | 8 |
| Canada | 308 |
| Cayman Islands | 1 |
| Chile | 11 |
| China | 73 |
| Colombia | 19 |
| Costa Rica | 14 |
| Cote d’Ivoire | 1 |
| Croatia | 5 |
| Cyprus | 2 |
| Czech Republic | 61 |
| Denmark | 8 |
| Dominican Republic | 3 |
| Ecuador | 4 |
| Egypt | 34 |
| El Salvador | 7 |
| Estonia | 4 |
| Ethiopia | 1 |
| European Union | 73 |
| Fiji | 1 |
| Finland | 10 |
| France | 69 |
| Georgia | 1 |
| Germany | 103 |
| Ghana | 9 |
| Greece | 9 |
| Greenland | 1 |
| Guatemala | 3 |
| Honduras | 2 |
| Hong Kong SAR China | 35 |
| Hungary | 23 |
| Iceland | 3 |
| India | 215 |
| Indonesia | 52 |
| Iraq | 3 |
| Ireland | 130 |
| Isle of Man | 1 |
| Israel | 24 |
| Italy | 62 |
| Jamaica | 8 |
| Japan | 34 |
| Jordan | 1 |
| Kazakhstan | 5 |
| Kenya | 9 |
| Kuwait | 4 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 1 |
| Latvia | 3 |
| Lebanon | 5 |
| Lithuania | 7 |
| Luxembourg | 1 |
| Madagascar | 1 |
| Malawi | 1 |
| Malaysia | 24 |
| Malta | 1 |
| Martinique | 1 |
| Mauritius | 3 |
| Mexico | 65 |
| Mongolia | 1 |
| Morocco | 3 |
| Mozambique | 2 |
| Myanmar (Burma) | 2 |
| Namibia | 2 |
| Netherlands | 66 |
| New Zealand | 24 |
| Nigeria | 15 |
| Norway | 19 |
| Oman | 4 |
| Pakistan | 12 |
| Papua New Guinea | 2 |
| Paraguay | 1 |
| Peru | 9 |
| Philippines | 92 |
| Poland | 43 |
| Portugal | 22 |
| Puerto Rico | 7 |
| Qatar | 3 |
| Romania | 21 |
| Russia | 55 |
| Saudi Arabia | 6 |
| Serbia | 4 |
| Sierra Leone | 1 |
| Singapore | 58 |
| Slovakia | 13 |
| Slovenia | 3 |
| Somalia | 1 |
| South Africa | 89 |
| South Korea | 44 |
| Spain | 54 |
| Sri Lanka | 9 |
| St. Kitts & Nevis | 1 |
| Suriname | 2 |
| Sweden | 22 |
| Switzerland | 18 |
| Taiwan | 29 |
| Tajikistan | 1 |
| Thailand | 20 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 3 |
| Turkey | 21 |
| Uganda | 2 |
| Ukraine | 24 |
| United Arab Emirates | 10 |
| United Kingdom | 190 |
| United States | 28,743 |
| Uzbekistan | 1 |
| Venezuela | 8 |
| Vietnam | 21 |
| Zambia | 3 |
| Zimbabwe | 5 |
Emboldened
Father, I cannot even begin to fathom all that You have forgiven me throughout my lifetime. My mind remembers a lot but You choose to forgive and forget! I rejoice in the prophet Micah’s proclamation!
He shall again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power]. Yes, you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19 (AMP)
Mark 10:46-52 (<<click to read the passage)
Bartimaeus is a noteworthy character for sure! Due to his blindness, he would have been grouped with the lowliest people of his culture. In a society where physical labor was just about everyone’s way of making a living, his only source of income would have come from the generosity of others. But was certainly tenacious, regardless of his standing!
Jesus’ reputation had proceeded Him, and Bartimaeus had heard of His many miracles. When he heard that Jesus was near, “he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” v47
Those words were no sooner out of his mouth when many of those around him yelled, “Be quiet!”
He was not timid. He did not slink back into the shadows. Their command did not deter him for “he only shouted louder, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” v48
Their words of discouragement did not push him back but gave him cause to thrust himself to the forefront!
It is to our detriment that our culture is so anti-Christ. Some are bold but many hold back. We could lose our job. We could be accused of harassment. Anymore, if someone didn’t like what we were saying they might punch us in the face or even pull a gun on us!
Lord Jesus, help us to be more like Bartimaeus. May the yelling of the crowds not deter us from shouting for more of You. May we be emboldened. In our case, part of the problem is that the crowd needs You, too. Give us a burning passion for them. They are trapped in the shallow, unforgiving, unfulfilling world in which we live. And we know the Savior!
June 13th, 2019, 3:49 pm
My Hands
And I thought I was tired yesterday! Father, thank You for the strength to make it through everything today. Karen and I were very productive today and even though I am just sitting down to write, You have been on my mind. May our time be productive. Amen.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
As I was getting ready to get cleaned up this evening, I looked at my hands. I had washed them before supper but the labors of the past couple of days did not wash readily away. I have handled black mulch at church and my in-laws’ home. I have had them totally covered in tacky, wet sand from an outdoor project at home.
They are not the hands of youth but not the hands of the aged…yet! They are worn. They are stained. When I first looked at them after they got wet, the stains outlined every single wrinkle!
They are feeling the beginnings of arthritis. The skin at the bend of my right thumb is split, making it tender. I have had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand and at some point, I will have to have a bone removed from the base of my left thumb.
My hands are well used. I am blessed to have them. And I pray that they continue not just to be used for my benefit but for the benefit of God’s Kingdom. I truly want my hands to be used for His glory.
Right now, I sit here after a hot shower and they are much cleaner and they don’t hurt too much at the moment but are joyously typing away! The Lord has inspired me and I am writing with my hands, about my hands!
Before sitting down, I was pondering these many things and a song from my youth came to mind. It was written in 1976 by a man named Ray Hildebrand. I heard him sing at a youth congress – the same event where I heard Michael Pitts (see Bird on the Wing). The song was simply entitled Hands. Here is the chorus:
Hands, lift up your hands, you can give
Hands, lift up your hands, you can help out, you can reach out
To people all over the world, people all over the world
With your hands, yes you can, reach out with love
We are called to use what we have to help out and reach out…and most importantly reach out with love.
Lord Jesus, use every part of me to impact the “people all over the world” for You and Your glory! Amen!
June 12th, 2019, Wed, 9:42 pm
Rose-colored Glasses
Father, I am exhausted! But it was worth all the effort. I had the privilege of working with a young man who will benefit greatly from seeing You fleshed out before him. Help me to be a worthy ambassador for You. We worked hard and accomplished a lot. May we do so again. Please, bless our efforts.
Mark 10:35-45 (<<click to read the passage)
For whatever reason, my brain is regularly wired to spit out idioms. And today’s is “looking at the world through rose-colored glasses”. It is defined on thefreedictionary.com as meaning: with an unduly cheerful, optimistic, or favorable view of things. And if anybody was dealing with this issue if was James and John in today’s passage.
Because they had “turned a deaf ear” to Jesus’ prophetic proclamation they now blindly put on their “rose-colored glasses”. They ask for places of honor when Jesus comes to sit on His throne. And Jesus’ response is,
“You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”
And, I’m sorry, but do James and John – these Sons of Thunder – have a big DUH! stamped across their foreheads? Their response?
“Oh yes, we are able!”
They have heard nothing! They have absolutely no idea what they are asking! They are blinded by their positioning to get to the top of the heap – they are both aiming to be top dog.
And boy, once the other disciples heard of their request, there was not a happy camper amongst them!
Jesus made it very clear that they all would get their taste of His Kingdom on this side of eternity but most importantly he once again stressed that the mindset of their world (and it continues today!) was upside down in the world of Kingdom reality!
“Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Lord Jesus, it is hard to even imagine what our world would be like if we took that as a challenge! If we put half as much effort into serving our fellowman as we do trying to one-up each other, our world would never be the same. Lord, as I draw closer to You, may that mindset be in me. May my goal be to serve. Amen.
June 11th, 2019, Tues, 6:45 pm
Turning a Deaf Ear
The first Monday of the first full week of summer break! Father, we have already been at it for a few hours, getting some things done that have needed doing for some time. Fill us with strength, patience, and love! Please use us to build one another up. Amen.
Mark 10:32-34 (<<click to read the passage)
I’m sure most of us have heard the idiom “turn a deaf ear” which according to Theidioms.com means: choose not to hear, refuse to listen, to ignore what someone says.
Many of us experience times in our lives where we are aware of some truth but for whatever reason, we avoid acknowledging it. Maybe it has to do with a serious diagnosis in regards to ourselves or a loved one. Maybe it had something to do with a spouse or child spurning our love to move onto greener pastures. Or possibly we didn’t want to deal with the unavoidability of losing a job.
Some people turn a deaf ear to such things. They carry on like it isn’t happening. They won’t talk about it. They won’t look you in the eye when you talk about it. They do whatever is necessary to avoid coming to terms with the inevitable.
Maybe this is what is happening in Jesus’ proclamation to His twelve disciples of what is ahead. And remember this isn’t the first time He’s said something. It’s not even the second time He’s told them. This is the third time that He has very clearly spoken with them about his pending passion, death, and resurrection.
And their response? They seemingly chose not to hear. They refused to listen. They flat out ignored what He was…well in some ways don’t you think Jesus was screaming? He desperately needed someone to come alongside Him. Yes, He most assuredly knew His Father was there but from a human standpoint, doesn’t holding someone’s hand through the seemingly insurmountable issues we come across in life, doesn’t that bring comfort? Isn’t there a peace generated by that interaction with our fellow man, though it may not put an end to the issue, that we cannot find by ourselves?
Lord Jesus, I am so sorry, even with all the time and love that You invested in Your disciples’ lives, that they weren’t there for You when You needed them. I am sorry that we probably would not have done any better. I realize that You understood then and that You understand now but enable us to push past our deafness to the needs of others. You hear them loud and clear…and You weep for them. May we become sensitized to Your heart. May we clearly hear the deep heart-wrenching struggles of those around us. Amen.
June 10th, 2019, Mon, 10:49 am