A Good Word Wednesday #31

Help! I need somebody! 🛟🤝🌄

Feb 15, 2023

Everybody needs help, hope and good words of encouragement! Please share this edition with your friends and family today and invite them to join us! Thank you!

I hope you had a lovely Valentines Day yesterday. My husband surprised me with this beautiful orchid in one of my favorite colors and then treated me to lunch at a local Italian restaurant. I felt special, spoiled and loved. That’s me. Well done, Johnny.

Now… on to the word of the day, and as promised, brought to you by the letter “H”.

Good Word of the Day: Help

I’m not a Beatles fan. I am a child of the 60’s, but these weren’t my people. Occasionally, though, they did have a catchy song, like Help! If you need a blast from the past, the link is in the Recommend section below.

But I do know where my help comes from — He is the Maker of Heaven and Earth. The Casting Crowns song listed below says it well.

I am, however, a fan of this movie and the music from the 60’s—The Sound of Music. The mountains play a key part. The mountain brought Maria to the Abbey. She asks God as she prays looking toward the mountains, “Where does my help come from?” And at the very end, the Von Trapp family climbs the mountain as they escape the Nazi invasion of Austria.

The point being, our true help comes not from creation, not from others, it comes from God. When we find ourselves in the depths of angry seas, in the grip of anger and the fog of depression, God will meet us there and be our strength. He is our constant source of help. He brings hope to the hopeless.

How have you seen God bring help to you in times of pain in your life? How have you helped bring hope to others?

Wednesday in the Word

Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength, a very presenthelp in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come, behold the works of the Lord,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!
The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Good Unseen People

Here are a couple of stories that will make an appearance in my upcoming book: Unseen People. Sharing Light and Life with your Neighbors and the Nations. They first were offered in my blog, Stories for Global Good.

Being a helper is also being a servant: Stories for Global Good: Let Me Serve You. The book mentioned in this blog is recommended below.

Do you know the people who help you in your community? Who are your servers? How can you help them? Stories for Global Good: Do You See Them?

You can keep up with the progress of my book here: Unseen People book progress

Words I Recommend

A Good Song: Help! The Beatles

A Good Movie: The Sound of Music Just for fun, treat yourself to the opening scene of The Sound of Music.

Another Good Song: Praise You In This Storm by Casting Crowns I will praise you in this storm. Where does my help come from?

A Good Book: One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, Ann Voskamp

Another Good Book: When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself by Steve Corbett . I wish I had known the principles in this book years ago when I helped people in my work as a Minister of Missions. How do you truly help people without causing dependence? How do you help them help themselves? Good words to the wise in here. I learned the lessons in action in Indonesia through the work of She Is Safe.

What are some ways people help you every week? How can you serve them?

Some of the words I recommend have associate links. All that mean is, if you click on them and purchase, I receive some support to continue this good work every Wednesday. Thank you in advance!

A Final Good Word

More good news. We aren’t on our own to figure out how to help people. We don’t have to look far for instructions. We don’t even have to look to the hills. As followers of Jesus, we have the help of the Holy Spirit living within us.
"If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:15-18

That’s some really good news. Share those good words with someone today.

ALSO - If you would like to offer a good word to be highlighted in a future Good Word Wednesday, please send it my way! I would love to hear from you.