How Great is God to You?

...[If] God-your God-is what your soul craves after; then be of good courage, thou art a child of God. With all thy sins and imperfections, take this to thy comfort: if thy soul has no rest in sin, thou are not as the sinner is! If thou art still crying after and craving after something better, Christ has not forgotten thee, for thou hast not quite forgotten him. The believer cannot do
without his Lord; words are inadequate to express his thoughts of him. We cannot live on the sands of the wilderness, we want the manna which drops from on high; our skin bottles of creature confidence cannot yield us a drop of moisture, but we drink of the rock...and that rock is Christ." ~Charles H. Spurgeon, from Morning & Evening

How Great Thou Art (sung by Newsong)

"But [Jesus] answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." ~Matthew 4:4

"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.." ~Romans 10:8-10

What Christ has called the church to be....

"For the early Christians, koinonia was not the frilly 'fellowship' of church-sponsored bi-weekly outings. It was not tea, biscuits and sophisticated small talk in the Fellowship Hall after the sermon. It was an unconditional sharing of their lives with the other members of Christ's body." ~Sider, Ron

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." ~Galatians 6:2-3

What is your church like? Are others able to freely share their burdens with you? Are you able to freely share your burdens? Is there a transparency, a realness amongst all...or do you & your church members pride itself on images to uphold? If that is the case, let that change begin with you. Offer to carry others' burdens, while freely sharing yours, knowing that "Let him who boasts boast [only] in the Lord." 2 Corinthians 10:17

You Can Hold On....

"He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." Think of that when you are tempted to question the gentleness of His leading. He is remembering all the time; and not one step will He make you take beyond what your foot is able to endure. Never mind if you think it will not be able for the step that seems to come next; either He will so strengthen it that it shall be able, or He will call a sudden halt, and you shall not have to take it at all." ~Frances Ridley Havergal

"...And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." ~1 Cor. 10:13

Our anniversary country road trip....

I have always loved the country & when I was growing up, I used to dream of one day living there. Well, I've lived in the country a good many years now...God was so gracious to grant me this desire for all this time. And still yet, after all these years, I am in complete awe of the countryside. It never ceases to take my breath away & make me think of our Creator. I can look all around and see God in everything He made so beautifully. So for our anniversary this year, we took a day meandering trip through the country roads around us. We saw many lovely things on our drive. Below is one of the pics from that trip. I've included a poem by one of my favorite poets, which I think so fits:

"The little cares which fretted me
I lost them yesterday,
Among the fields, above the sea,
Among the winds at play,
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.
The foolish fear of what might happen,
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the husking of the corn,
Where drowsy poppies nod
Where ill thoughts die and good are born-
Out in the fields with God." ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"...since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. "~Romans 1:20

I Am Thine Oh Lord...

My husband and I have been praying for direction about something for the past couple of weeks. A couple of nights ago, one evening, I started humming this song. It has come to me each evening, as well as just now. I no doubt, the Lord is trying to tell me something through it. Such a beautiful hymn by such an inspiring lady, Fanny Crosby. Cyberhymnal states the following background info about it:

"Fanny Crosby was visiting Mr. W. H. Doane, in his home in Cin­cin­nati, Ohio. They were talk­ing to­ge­ther about the near­ness of God, as the sun was set­ting and even­ing sha­dows were ga­ther­ing around them. The subject so imp­ressed the well-known hymn-writer, that be­fore re­tir­ing she had writ­ten the words to this hymn, which has become one of the most use­ful she has ever writ­ten. The mu­sic by Mr. Doane so well fit­ted the words that the hymn has become a spe­cial fa­vo­rite wher­ev­er the Gos­pel Hymns are known." Sankey, p. 325

I Am Thine O Lord

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

Refrain
Draw me nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

Refrain
O the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

Refrain
There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

Refrain

Famous Homeschoolers, including U.S. Presidents; author C.S. Lewis; and many others

Presidents
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
John Quincy Adams
Abraham Lincoln
William Henry Harrison
Theodore F. Roosevelt

Governors
Patrick Henry [VA]
Charles Pickney III [SC]
Richard D. Spaight [NC]
William Livingston [NJ]
Richard Bassett [DE]

U.S. Senators and Congressmen
William S. Johnson [CT]
George Clymer [PA]
John Francis Mercer [MD]
William Blout [TN]
William Few [GA]

Scientists/Businessmen
Blaise Pascal
Booker T. Washington
Thomas Edison
Benjamin Franklin
Andrew Carnegie
John Stuart Mill

Chief Justices of U.S. Supreme Court
John Rutledge
John Jay
John Marshall

College Presidents
John Witherspoon -- Yale
Timothy Dwight -- Princeton
William S. Johnson -- Columbia

Preachers / Missionaries
John & Charles Wesley
John Owen
Johnathon Edwards
William Carey
Dwight D. Moody
John Newton
Hudson Taylor

Authors
Mark Twain
George Bernard Shaw
Irving Berlin
Charles Dickens
C.S. Lewis

Philosopher
Charles Montesquieu

Famous Women
Abigail Adams
Mercy Warren
Martha Washington
Florence Nightingale
Phyllis Wheatley
Agatha Christie
Pearl S. Buck

Generals
"Stonewall" Jackson
Robert E. Lee
Douglas MacArthur
George Patton

Artists
John Singleton Copley
Andrew Wyeth
Rembrandt Peale
Claude Money
Ansel Adams

Composers
Anton Bruckner
Felix Mendelssohn
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Francis Poulenc