After God's Own Heart

I desire to be special- that is set apart! However, to be set apart, I need to mature and grow in the ways and purpose in which God planned for me in order to one day hear, “Mary, you are a woman after God’s own heart.” 

 

After God's Own Heart

 

God said of David,

“He is a man after my own heart.”

This set David apart,

For God was in the depth of David’s love

Though there was still sin to speak of.

God wants the same for me-

An abiding relationship;

His story upon my lip.

God wants a bond – a passion for him;

Devoted action, not reaction on a whim.

God wants me in His word;

He wants me, ministry, stirred.

He wants my voice, in Godly love, heard.

God wants my dependance, faithfulness, and trust,

That’s a must. 

Maybe, then, I will hear from God,

“Mary, you are a woman after God’s own heart.”

That would be a start;

And like David,

Being set apart.

 

Mary Crisp Jameson 12/11/2025 

 

“And when He had removed him, He raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also He gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all My will.” Acts 13:22 

 

“But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart…” 1 Samuel 13:14a  

 

 

Which Comes First?

There is an old mystery often asked, “Which came first? The chicken or the egg!” 

     I actually have no answer, but in reading my devotional about the words that come from my mouth in the way of gossip or words that injure others, I questioned, “What comes first? The heart or the thoughts before I speak. 

     Luke 6:45 says, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Then I found in Mark 7:21a, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts…”

     Therefore, I conclude, my thoughts, good or bad, first come from my heart before I think them and then spew them carelessly rom my mouth. 

     Since my heart needs the work, I pray this morning Luke 6:45, O Lord, “Let the words of my mouth and the medication of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” 

 

The Heart of Love

Since February still lingers, I suppose it is not too late to think about Valentine’s day which celebrates love and affection and leaves me with the image of a heart. Actually, the heart is the innermost part of my being. My heart is what governs my thoughts and emotions. 

     There are all kinds of sayings about the heart and the emotions that go with it, like: 

 

Faint of heart

A heart of gold

Eat your heart out 

Have a heart to heart

Have a change of heart

Heart is in the right place 

Home is where the heart is 

From the bottom of my heart 

Wear your heart on your sleeve 

These are all good things to consider but even better are those found in scripture: 

 

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7a

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:21

 “My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.” Psalm 7:10

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

 

     There are so many more scriptures about the heart that I cannot post them all. But the one thing I cannot leave out is how much love flows from God’s heart. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is a heart of love! And, He gives it to me.

 

 

Cure For The Heart

I think of doctors as those who know the cure for my ailments. I have never wanted to be one! 

     However, I do know a cure that needs to be passed on. It is the cure for the human heart. Therefore, I need to pass this information on, and I need to pass it on in love.  

     The cure is Jesus! 

Heart Vs Head

Woe to the one who has to analyze everything! There are just some things the human mind cannot comprehend, like: Why would Jesus leave His heavenly throne; His Father in glory and come to earth to be persecuted and to shed His blood for me? Why would He continually offer grace when I ask forgiveness but keep on sinning? Why would He walk with me through my trials and continue to bless me? Why does my heart leap with joy when I pray to Him? It is not for me to figure out. It is only for me to "Believe!"

Heart vs Head Knowledge 

 

Heart knowledge

Is so much more than college.

To know Him fills me to the brim;

It elevates-

Makes strong the waits.

His love ascends and never ends-

It transcends!

An ounce of heart 

Blows head knowledge off the chart.

To know Christ is not overpriced.

He is the Bread of Life-

The end of heart’s strife.

He is what I panted after.

He is my laughter!

He is my delight, protecting through the night. 

He takes away the dark and gives life its spark.

To know Him is to love Him,

Sending the heart leaping into a happy hymn. 

Heart learning is, Jesus, yearning-

Wanting more of what He has in store.

Heart knowledge, not college,

Makes Jesus my friend as I comprehend;

I’m no longer man born of female-

No longer frail and living just a few more days-

No longer traveling a wayward maze.

Heart knowledge is letting Jesus amaze

Until, upon His face, I gaze.

The more He pulls my heartstrings, 

The higher my heart sings.

 

Mary Crisp Jameson 10/14/2024 

 

“…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”  Ephesians 3:17b-18

The Mirror

It is hard getting old. Some would say the option is not desirable. As for me, I can't wait to see my Lord, but I am here on earth until God desires to call me home. For that reason I am like everyone else. I do not  like the signs of aging-thinning hair, weight problems, health issues, aches and pains - and I could go on and on. I look in the mirror and no longer see youth. I desire that the mirror reflect more, like: my heart, kindness, and love - not the thinning gray hair, wrinkles, and droopy jaws. 

The Mirror

Mirror! Mirror!

You couldn’t reflect me clearer.

This aging lady, I hardly recognize. 

Where are the brows above my eyes? 

Where did my lashes go?

They have forgotten to grow.

Mirror! Mirror!

You reflect it as it is-

All my flaws and frizz.

My hair is getting thin.

There are creases around my grin.

And what’s that hair growing on my chin?

Mirror, I hate to nag,

But you show my jaws ae beginning to sag.

Mirror! Mirror!

You leave me in dismay,

As you reflect my hair of gray.

Looking back at you

I stew on what to do.

Mirror! Mirror!

You couldn’t reflect me clearer.

Aging is no happy breeze.

Show me better, please!

I pray the world not judge the appearance of this old fart

But looks upon the heart.

 

Mary Crisp Jameson 11/9/2023

 

“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.” Proverbs 20:29 NIV

 

 

 

The Inward Image

     When I look in the mirror, what do I see?  Do I see a face I want to be critical of, hair I wish were different, or skin that is imperfect?  I must say, I do have a tendency to see the outward rather than the inward, yet God sees the inward. 
     Our heavenly Father wants us to reflect an intimacy with Him.  To do this I need to get to know Him just as I know myself.  He wants my reflection to characterize Him.  That comes from a heart of faith and love and a commitment to study His Word!   I am God's workmanship, and, as such, I need to reflect His ways.   I have learned through the years that when I live in such a way which shows kindness and love toward others, they see me more for what I am from the inside rather than the outward. 
   
Romans 8: 27 "And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He interceded for the saints according to the will of God."


     

Mouth Issues

     The new year always finds me resolving to do better with reinforcing healthy eating and controlling my weight.  There is much to be said about gluttony and how much I put into my mouth.  However, it is just not excessive eating which defines gluttony.  When I consider what enters my mouth, I also have to consider what Jesus told Peter in Matthew 15:17-20a  "Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man..." 
     May the new year also find me resolving to control what comes out of my mouth and my heart. 

Love

     I have been intending to write about love for the past week, but have not taken the time to sit in "A Friendly Shade" and decide how to get started.   Love takes so many different directions.  I believe love has to be developed.  To have love we need forgiveness even without being asked, we need to develop an intent not to hurt others, and we need to eliminate self pride.  So I knew that to talk about love, there was no way to cover every aspect that needed to be considered.
     Then as I was watching a video on Facebook about a farmer's presentation to the Shark Tank, I realized how his heart changed the perspective of the Tank members.  He was full of humbleness and genuine caring for the farmers in the area where he lived.  He was demonstrating a love which was coming from his heart.  If we don't have true love it simple cannot flow from our heart.  For this reason, I think I can truthfully say the heart and love are connected.  
     In Proverbs 4:23 we are told "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."  Therefore, we cannot put love on a shelf and just take it down occasionally like a trinket, dust it off, and expect to use it from time to time and see results.   Others, who we are around every day, see how we use love; they recognize us for who we really are.  Matthew 15: 18 shows us this.  "But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them." 
     If we don't have love in our hearts, what does that make us?  I think we can find the answer in 1 Corinthians 13, "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."
     How should we handle love?  In Proverbs 3:3 we find, "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."  From this I find love to be tender and we strenghen it by protecting it.  We endeavor to keep it safe, stored away in our heart so we keep our love growing for others. 
     Who should we show love to and how?  Matthew 22:39 answers that question, "And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"
     I realize it is hard to love those who are unlovable, but what more does the scripture have to say:    Take a look at what Luke 6:32 says, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.  You see, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13)
     Finally, but certainly not least,  is the commandment on who we should love the most.  "Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" And another scripture cautions to beware of where we place our treasure:  "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."   Where is our love, our treasure?  Are we willing to set pride aside to give love to others?

Keep Me Young

    As adults, what's missing in our lives?  Could it be childlike trust as shown by the little girl who asked her mother for a kitten and was told, "No! Not unless God sends you one."  So the child immediately went outside, got on her knees, and prayed, "Lord, please send me a kitten." When the child opened her eyes, a kitten came sailing through the air and landed at her feet.  Her simple, trusting prayer had been answered.  It didn't matter that the neighbor across the way had just tied a rope to a tree limb  and then to the hitch of his truck in an attempt to get a stranded kitten out of his tree. The rope broke, the tree limb popped back in place, and the kitten went sailing across the sky. 
     Sometimes trust, laughter, and just getting rid of the stored up garbage of disappointments and resentments along life's highway of life will bring blessings, joy, and a youthful heart. 

            

 

 KEEP ME YOUNG

Keep me young, Lord, keep me young,

Like little children

With laughter dancing off their tongue,

While chasing friends across the glen.

Keep me laughing, full of joy

Like a playful, grade school boy;

Like the children and the young,

Dreaming dreams

Through the seasons that have sprung,

Waking, flowing as the streams.

Let my love flow easily through my days,

Awed by heaven’s rainbow rays.  

Don’t let me age, Lord, don’t let me age.

Give me childlike faith and trust,

Hope through the turning of a page, 

A life with treasures free of rust.

Make me childlike through the day,

Loving, sharing in my play.

Help me rid my heartfelt pain.
Keep me trusting as a child,
Dancing, singing through drizzling rain;

Open, growing, meek and mild.

Keep me smiling in this place,
Joyful in my homeland space.
Keep me young, Lord, keep me young.

                                                         Mary Crisp Jameson

 

A Matter Of The Heart

     It is getting close! That time of the year when we start to think of the new year and the changes we plan to make in our habits and our lives. It is sad, however, that most of us fail to maintain these resolutions. I am definitely in this category. Usually all my good intentions fade away within the first two months, if they even last that long.
     What is it exactly that will keep me on track? It might just be I truly need a complete change of heart. I don’t mean just wanting to change but really, truly desiring it. Sure I may want to lose weight but do I really want to give up my gluttony? Is it a matter of the heart?
     I heard someone say that they had been faithfully walking for several years. I asked, “How?” The reply was, “The trick is getting up, putting on those shoes, and getting out the door.”
     “Wow,” I thought, “that is so true. Once the exercise is started, I am enjoying the walk and feeling so good about the accomplishment.” It is the same with food, only in reverse. Once I have devoured that mouth-watering dessert, and not stopping with just one piece, I am hating myself for the over-indulgence.
     With what other habits do I need a change of heart? They say Social Media is a way to exchange information and ideas as well as stay in contact with each other. I am thinking, “How often do I grab my phone and go to Facebook the first thing every morning to see who said what and what may have happened that I “want” to know about?” Let me think about this one! What should I have grabbed the first thing in the morning that would help get me through my day? The answer is obvious. The Bible!  It just could be the best Social Media available. It provides information and wisdom. It lifts my spirit. It enlightens me. It keeps me in touch with the One who can lead me, support me, and solve the problems in my life. Through prayer and bible study I can stay in touch with the One who died for me so that I could have life eternal. Staying in touch with God every day is more important than any other habit I need to develop. This has to be a matter of the heart.

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4: 23