Category: Fun Puzzles

Posted in Bible, Bible Puzzles, Faith, Find the Difference, Fun Puzzles, life, Thoughts, Videos

Sabbath Afternoon Fun: Find 7 Differences 1 John 4:11-12 and Happy’s Alter Call

Posted on by katherinebrianneparilli

Happy Sabbath everyone. Once again I find myself so grateful for the gift of the Sabbath. This week we made the third move to a temporary rental since moving out of our home while also having to make a trip to the doctor the day before and on moving day, on top of our search for permanent home.

While after all the craziness of this past week and the exhaustion of moving, I am so grateful for the opportunity to pull aside from the stress of searching for a home, of rushing to the doctors, shopping, etc., the past few weeks there has been a deep shadow cast upon our Sabbath joy due to the passing of our beloved dog Happy.

Within a few wees of my father’s death, Happy had become gravely ill. for 3 years he fought valiantly. Our loves and prayers giving him the courage to fight a little bit longer. But the dreaded day finally came when as much as he loved us, the pain was too great, and his hold on life to weak for him to continue fighting. And God in His mercy said it was time for Happy’s battle to come to an end.

But oh how empty the house feels without him. Starting Friday afternoon I miss his impatient demands to receive his weekly bath before Sabbath arrives so that he would be ready and waiting for the Sabbath. His love of the word of God always inspired me to seek to draw closer to Jesus. During his final weeks of battle, the word of God had been his comfort. There were nights that the only way he found rest was for me to put a sermon on the TV.

A few weeks before he passed, we were watching a sermon by Doug Batchelor talking about how now is the time to make a choice to stand firm for God. Then he made a call where he asked those who wanted to stand up for Jesus to stand up. Something caught my eyes, and I turned to see Happy, who had been resting quietly on the sofa, standing up with pride, facing the TV. There was a huge smile of joy on his face, as he answered that call and weak as he was becoming, used his strength to stand up and in his sweet doggy way, stand up for Jesus.

Happy had reached the point where he was so weak that my aunt was able to put a purse on him and he did not have the energy to move or even whimper, yet he used what strength he had to proudly stand up and face the TV with a giant smile on his face when he heard the call who was wiling to stand up for Jesus.

As I tearfully remember how much he loved God, my heart aches. I remember how much he trusted God and His word so that even though he was trembling in fear from the constant booming of the fireworks, when I put on some hymns and told him that they attracted God’s angels, and God promised that His angels would take care of us, he would look around, smile, and within a few minutes he would be fast asleep.

He was such an inspiration to us. Time after time we would see the way our dear little bundle of fur showed his love for and trust in his Creator, and it filled our hearts with longing. to him, Sabbath was an extra special day because not only would he hear the hymns and sermons that he loved, but he knew that the God whom he loved, would draw near to us and him in a special way. And unless one of us was extremely sick, he wanted to be bathed and waiting for that longed for visit by his Friend.

I do not know if our precious pets will be raised when Jesus come or if they will be given back to us in Heaven or when the earth is made new, but seeing how deeply Happy loved Jesus, how his face lit up with joy as he stood up immediately after Pastor Batchelor made his call to stand up for Jesus, it would not surprise me. It is true that God did not die for our pets, because they are not guilty of sin the way we are. But when I consider the deep trust in God’s promise to send his angels to protect his people, that was so strong that his trembling form was able to sleep even while the fireworks loudly boomed around him, I cannot help but wonder if one day our joy will be increased to see our little dog smiling up at his best Friend and beloved Creator for whom he had been so proud to declare that no matter the cost, he was willing to stand up for.

I hope that you have a happy Sabbath. And that today, like my precious Happy, you will answer the call that no matter the cost, you will stand up for Jesus.

Posted in Bible Puzzles, Faith, Find the Difference, Fun Puzzles, life, Thoughts

Sabbath Afternoon Fun: Find 3 Difference Romans 5:6-8

Posted on by katherinebrianneparilli

I hope that you are having a Sabbath afternoon. And that you are enjoying this chance to learn better how to keep your heart rested in the promises of God. I know how hard this lesson is to learn, but before the last great battle we must learn this lesson fully if we hope to stand. Yet learning this much needed lesson is painful.

Currently God is teaching our family this lesson. Between the death of my father and the change in the economy our house became too expensive for our tiny budget to support so we had to sell the house. In the months leading up to our home going up for sell the market was full of good homes at a price we could handle. But within days of our house going on the market most of the homes were gone. But every so often a seemingly good home would appear. But as soon as our house sold and we could finally put in a bid, the competition became so fierce that there were times I found a potential home in the morning and before I could show my mother and sister a few hours later, it was sold.

Over and over we would call about a home to find out it was already pending, or after a few days of discussion and prayer we would decide that it was time to call the realtor to see the home, and it was gone. The first few times we were not worried, but after days turned into weeks, and the time to move drew dangerously near, we began to worry. Finally we decided that we would have to put our house hunting on hold and find a place to rent. But to our dismay we found out that even though we will have the money to rent a home for a year while looking for a new house, because our income is too low, we cannot find a home to rent.

Now we are only days away from having to leave our home, and we still have no place to move too and no idea where we are going to put our belongings or how we will move them since none of us have the health or strength needed to move hundred of boxes or heavy furniture. It is a very unnerving position to be in. One that I would not wish upon another. Living on the street is hard for someone in good health, but for a diabetic dog who requires refrigerated insulin and three sickly women, it is a potential death sentence.

I wish that we could say that we have reached this point without questioning or murmuring. Our trust in God so complete that like Peter we can fall into a sleep so deep that even the glory of an angel in our room cannot wake us. But that would be a commandment breaking stretch. At times our blood pressure has reached dangerous levels, our nerves have gotten so taunt that we had to apologize for our tense and irritated words, and at moments the fear has become so strong that we could not help but with tears wonder if God had abandoned us.

Yet at the same time, after gathering in prayer to ask for God’s strength and help, peace filled our hearts. While we were worried, our trust in God outweighed that fear to the point that smiles replaced tears as our minds were pointed to all the ways that God had helped us in the past. Promises from God’s word were recalled to our minds and as our trembling hands reached out to grasp them, He made us stronger.

At this moment we cannot fully say where God is leading us or why He has chosen to take us down this frightful path, we have no clue if we will have another roof to go to when we leave this home or if the car will become our new home, but we can say that God has been faithful to His word and is holding our hand. Here and there doing little things to prove that He taking care of us and to help strengthen our trust in Him.

It is my hope that for whatever future test God is preparing us for, we will prove faithful. That in some way this test of our faith, of painful muscle building, will not only draw us closer, but will in some way become such a testimony to others that it will help others to find the courage to stand firm and bring others to the Lord.

As you enjoy today’s find the difference verse about God’s love for sinful man, it is my prayer that God will help you to hide this verse in your heart. So when your test of faith comes, you will have the words of love and hope that you will need to help encourage your faith and to be a light to your feet keeping them from falling off the narrow path that leads to light.