My Prayer for Blessing

Heavenly Father,  You are mighty, holy, awesome,

   so I humbly come now to seek Your blessing,

      so I ask: show me, teach me, help me.  

You placed me here at this time

   so I could know how much I need You,

      so I could open my heart to receive Your love.

You have shown me my weakness and failures

   so I can own up to my need for Your grace,

      so I will honestly confess my sins.

You allowed me to experience conditions of life

   so I can recognize frustration, confusion, discouragement,

      so I can rebuke the enemy of my souls who tempts me.

You bring circumstances to teach me

  so I see I lack confidence, strength, determination,

      so I see I lack wisdom for what to say and what to do.

You have a plan and a purpose for me

   so I can survive the tough times ahead,

      so I can learn to trust and obey You.

You have a wonderful Forever for me in Heaven

   so I can be with Jesus my Savior,

      so I can thank You in person for salvation.  

Heavenly Father,  You are mighty, holy, awesome,

   so I gratefully now declare Your blessing upon me,
       thank You for Your wonderful love, forgiveness, and blessings. 

                                      AMEN.

by Elaine Hardt ©2018

Y O U R Troubles . . . Y O U R Solutions

Those irritations and troubles YOU didn’t deserve

took some of your energy, some of your time.

     Other problems came in your growing up years —

     that brought stress and maybe some tears,

but they taught you a lot in the meantime.

Today’s troubles might give you experience

when you learn to concentrate and pray;

     You accumulate the challenges you had —

     Now, analyze what was good and what was bad,

You’ll decide what to do now and what to say. 

When you merely complain, argue, and fuss

or turn your attention to inventing some fun,

     you miss the point of growing up strong —

     you might slide into doing stuff wrong.

Maybe later you’ll look back on what you’ve done.

David was the youngest of the family,

more attention went to brothers who were older.

     Life wasn’t perfect in those olden days —

     He worked hard and missed getting praise,

but he did a good job, growing strong and bolder.

You can read the facts and details right now.

You can see the outcome for yourself,

     What an example of growing strong and brave —

     These are lessons for you to learn and save.

Find your Bible there at home on the shelf.

Read 1st Samuel chapter 17;

Consider the challenges in David’s young life.

     Then read that Goliath was huge and strong —

     That biggest event really didn’t last long.

Obeying God brought David through the strife.  

                                       * * * 

 by Elaine Hardt ©2018 

                 Also, go to www.Biblegateway.com  to see Psalm 63, written by David. 

                 And see 1st Peter 1:6-8 which tells about trials and faith.

Other Good Books You'll Find

           Here's other books I've written that were published.  Sometimes you find used copies at Amazon or maybe in a book store.   

Spare Minute Sparklers,  Creative  Teaching Press,  l976

Four Minute Fun for Parent & Child,  Horizons, l976

I. Q. Exercises (co-authored with Dr. Kevin Leman) Think Ink, l980

Stories from Beyond the Double Rainbow, Thinking Caps, l982

Writing Poetry  workbook, Perceptions, l983

Pocket Games, Tyndale House Publishers, l986

Spare Time Treasures,  Thinking Caps, 1993

God and the Gangster, First Chapter e-book company, 2001

Your Discovery, Your Decision,  2013,  an e-book on amazon.com  bring up Amazon and go to "books by Elaine Hardt."    * * * 

by Elaine Hardt @2018

Another Booklet: It's # 100.

        At first I wrote books for parents and kids. You'll find some now on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/140-8384738-5505841?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Elaine+Hardt+books   that people have listed for resale.  And there's one with Kindle on that same page that you can access on line,  Your Discovery, Your Decision.
      Then I found ClickBook on line and saw how easily I could make my own small booklets.   http://www.bluesquirrel.com/products/clickbook/  So with 12 or so pages printed 4 to a piece of paper I made my own booklets to hand out when my husband and I traveled to speak.  Now retired and not traveling I mail booklets and hand them out to friends and family.  Look here at the side for Booklets Published and click to bring up the list.  My latest writing is Number 100. 
       Take a look and then email me for your copy of a booklet you'd like to receive.  The booklets are FREE.  I'd like to encourage you!  

by Elaine Hardt ©2018

Hear the News? See the News? What Are YOU Doing to Help?

The TV news, the radio news, the Internet news, the newspapers . . . we seem to be overloaded with reports of bad news, scary news,  unacceptable behavior of all sorts, and more and more terrible disasters. 

What are we nice, normal people supposed to do?  Let’s not just flip it off and ignore what’s happening.  

• Let’s pray for the victims and their families. 
• Let’s pray for the criminals, the gangs, the hateful people.      
• Let’s pray for the police, the firefighters, the rescue groups.  
• Ask God’s blessing on our Armed Forces, the Congress, the President,  the judges, the local elected politicians.  
• Certainly, pray for your own protection, for help that you need, for your neighborhood and town.  Pray for wisdom for what to say and what to do.

Each of us needs a serious outlook on how to improve these situations.  If we care, we do something.                  Y E S !

by Elaine Hardt @2018

Making a Difference

This or that?  What makes the difference ?

What will boost my confidence ?

What fixes or helps or improves it

a whole lot or a little bit ? 

What can make me better in my life ?

Do I cause irritation, confusion, strife ?

Can I ever solve my problems so old ?

Is it time to be quiet…or bold ?

Have I prayed about this enough today ?

Wonder what help the Bible might say . . . 

I must settle down and think it through.

Has this ever happened to you ?

by Elaine Hardt ©2018

April Fool’s Day ? Easter 2018 ?

This year Easter arrives on April Food’s Day !  Do you know why ?  
https://www.reference.com/holidays-celebrations/date-easter-change-c58f9462e93617da

     Easter is more than hardboiled eggs you decorated for your kids and the pretty Easter lily you can buy at the grocery store.

     Easter is a moveable date, the time following the cycle of the sun.

     Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism. 

     Easter is celebrated in different ways in the traditions of various church denominations.  

     It involves Lent, observed by some people as a 40 day period of fasting, prayer and penance.  Holy Week, includes Maundy Thursday’s Last Supper, Good Friday commemorating the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus.  Then on Sunday the celebration is the resurrection of Jesus.

     And we remember other customs such as hunting for Easter eggs,  the Easter bunny, and Easter parades. Kids got a new “Sunday dress.”  And what fun seeing women wearing pretty hats with their outfits. 

     Easter celebrations around the world are described in detail on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter   It’s 27 pages long if you click to print it. 

     You can read the Bible verses about the Last Supper,  The Crucifixion and Burial of Jesus, and the Resurrection.  Go to https://www.biblegateway.com   and type in a word to bring up Bible verses.  What an interesting search this is !

You'll want the facts so you can decide what to believe about Jesus ! 

by Elaine Hardt ©2018