Mirror on the Wall

I look in the mirror every day, but my mirror does not show the whole picture. It’s just reflective glass of what I choose to see. 

 

Mirror, Mirror on The Wall

 

Mirror, mirror on the wall,

Tell me large and small-

What you see within the day?

Just what will come my way.

I cannot see what is ahead.

Do I rejoice or dread?

Do I stop-short or go the distance?

Do I run with resistance or persistence?

Mirror, mirror, be my looking glass-

Tell me what, this day, will come to pass.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,

You simply cannot tell me true

What I must face or what to do.

There is only One with twenty-twenty

Who directs my paths of many.

There is only One whose face to look and seek

There is only One who will truly speak.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,

You’re just reflective glass

Enclosed within a frame of brass.

You cannot see the heart or spirit.

There’s only One who sees my merit. 

When God’s face shines back and reflects on me,

He’ll help me overcome and truly see.

So, I must go some other place, 

Seek God’s face,

And ask, when upon my knee, in a different space,

“Heavenly Father, up above,

Give me vision true!

Tell me what to do.

Reflect it back to me

And help me, your direction, to see.” 

 

Mary Crisp Jameson   3/7/2026 

 

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV 

 

My Identity

Who am I? Many ask this question, and I have to provide my ID to vote and to purchase prescriptions at the Pharmacy. I even admit, with some guilt, I have had to provide ID for a stop by police when I “accidently” drove a tad past the lawful speed limit. 

     But, who really am I? I may have risen to the office of Assistant Vice President during my working career, but that really is not who I am. I may be retired, but I am not a retiree. I have a daughter who made me a mother. I have a loving husband which makes me a wife. I have brothers and sisters so I am a sibling? I have joined a Church, so I am a Church member. I am be all of that, but really, really, who do I identify as?  

    I would have to answer that I am, first and foremost, a child of the Living God? Therefore, I have One living in me that is greater than I. 

 

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4  

 

Who I am has great meaning:

I am a Christian.

I am a Christian for whom Jesus died.

I am a Christian who has won the victory.

I am a Christian with the Holy Spirit living inside

I am a Christian with eternal salvation through Jesus. 

I am a Christian with the Father walking beside every minute.

I am a Christian given courage and strength through the Father. 

I am a Christian who receives daily guidance through the Holy Spirit.

I am a Child of God.

I am a part of God’s flock of sheep.. 

 

Identifying as God’s child, I can “Put my trust in Him. In God, whose word I praise- in the God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me.” Psalm 56:3-4

 

 

 

God's Will In The Day

Before Jesus’s arrest and as He was knowingly facing the cross, Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”

     I just prayed this prayer, for I believe it is the first thing I should pray each morning. “Father, not my will but Yours, today.”

     I also have to remind myself what are some things this day that would be within God’s will for me? 

         To love others as myself

         To be humble

         To be forgiving

         To be kind

         To seek to live as Jesus did

     These are just a few...and then “let go” of my own will and allow God to work it out and “believe” that all will be well in God’s way. In other words, “Trust” and “Let God navigate!”

Painting A Picture

It is hard to laugh when tragedy strikes. Few can do it.  I have to remember what Ecclesiastes 10:8 stated, “Whoever digs a pit may fall into it.” My Bible Study author put it this way, “It is foolish to step back and say, “I’m pressing on to higher ground, when we just dug ourselves a pit and fell into it.” Then again, I have to remind myself about the gift of life I am given; a gift meant to be enjoyed, and as I think about the gift God has endowed upon me, I wonder what kind of picture He would like for me to paint that tells the story of my life. I already know how He paints. I need look no further than my backyard to see His creative beauty. I need look no further than scripture to see how God painted a picture in the lives of others or how Jesus painted His picture of healing, teaching, and death upon a cross meant for me. 

 

Painting A Picture

 

I know the picture of being a saint, I cannot paint,

But I can paint a life of rejoicing

In the face of grief, through my belief.

I can paint a picture of pressing on before I’m gone.

I can paint a picture of unwavering hope, ‘cause God helps me to cope.

In the face of trials and worrisome miles,

I can create a master piece of endurance before I cease.

I’m just an artist at work

Enjoying my life, whether a captain of many or just a lowly clerk.

The picture I paint is one of preparation

And of building a Godly foundation.

I do it by skipping along, singing a song, ‘cause God is on His throne.

I do it ‘cause, God said, “This is the day the Lord hath made.”

So, I will not let my joy fade.

God gave me the gift of time

And said, “Be glad in it.”

So, I must paint joy through the hours that tick.

 

Mary Crisp Jameson 3/5/2026 

 

“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”  Psalm 118:24 KJV

 

“Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 KJV

I Do What I Do Not Wanna

 Woe to me when I do things I regret. Woe to is all, for we all have regrets. However, there is hope in our "Woe!" God forgives! 

This Thing I Do but Not Wanna Do 

 

This thing I do but do not want to do-

This thing I do not, but want to-

I do not understand this state of sin, 

But I know God can change me from within. 

He changes my want to.

He changes me through and through.

He can clean up what I do not want to do-

Like, 

I don’t want my wayward deeds to sprout like weeds.

I don’t want to take what will addict and cause conflict. 

I don’t want to get stoned with my problems just postponed. 

I don’t want to do what will cause harm or offend in the end.

I don’t want drugs to take that, my character, would re-make.

I don’t want to visit bars and drive fast cars just for temporary applause.

I don’t want my tongue to, gossip, spread or Satan’s voice get in my head. 

I don’t want to be involved in selfish plunder and be caught in my stupid blunder.

All the things I could do, but do not want to do only lead to a phony thrill.

They are against God’s nature and His will.

They lead to a temporary kick and leave me feeling unfit.

They anchor the bars of Satan’s prison cell and cast his spell. 

If I should do what I do not want to do, shame on me, for God can free.

The things I do not want to do-

Lead to embarrassment, guilt, and shame!

They smear my name. 

They leave me feeling cheap but, with God, newness I reap. 

He takes my despair and gives me the breath of clean air,

He helps me grow and my joy overflow.

He helps me do what I wanna do,

Instead of what I do not wanna. 

 

Mary Crisp Jameson 3/4/2026

 

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Romans 7:15-20 NIV  

Conversation

My Daily Hope Devotional used the GNT version of Proverbs 20:5 today, “A person’s thoughts are like water in a deep well, but someone with insight can draw them out.” The NIV version put it like, “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep water, but one who has insight draws them out.”

     The author applied the verse to conversation. Since I am not a great conversationist I found his views interesting. He said in order to draw thoughts out of someone, “engage and ask open-ended questions and then when they stop, ask for them to ‘tell me more.’” He further stated that “not only does this show you care about their thoughts, but it also improves your listening skills and conversation level.” 

     I have to say “Amen” to his points, and will take some of the examples he gave in order to strive to improve my conversation skills and really get to know someonoe’s heart. 

     I have to add another scripture to this which comes from Proverbs 1:5 niv, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” 

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we behold His glory!"

     John 1:14 NJKV

The God Of It All

There is nothing better each and every morning when I wake than to acknowledge to God that He is the God of the day and to praise Him for it. God is truly the God of it all! 

 The God Of It All 

 The God of my soul

Is the God of the whole;

He’s the God of the mountains

And the God of all fountains.

My God is the God of the storms

And of all that forms.

He’s the God of the ice and the snow;

The God of the winds that stay calm or blow.

My God is the God of the rains

And the drought across the plains.

He’s the God of the waters, streams, and seas; 

The God of the animals, birds, and bees.

God is the God of all weather during the year,

He’s the God of all I breathe, see, smell, or hear.

He’s the God of the heavens and the stars.

He’s the God of all that is ours.

He’s the God of the whole,

And it’s to Him we need to glorify and extol.

God is the God of it all,

Whether great or small.

 

Mary Crisp Jameson 2/26/2026

 

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, Is there anything too hard for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27 KJV

 

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Act 17:24-25 NIV