His Proverbs31 Sparrow's Nest

Miserable Mouthing

2012-01-14T13:35:00.007-06:00

"Nor let us...complain, as some of them also complained." (1 Cor. 10:8,10)

Have you ever known a miserable mouther? Have you ever been one? You know, the kind that complains about all the troubles that come their way, including the blessings...yes, the blessings! Oh how much we are like the Egyptian-freed Israelites, whom the Lord has given SO much to, and done SO much for...yet prone to still complain when events aren't all that we thought, or all that we wished, or all that we wanted. Oh, Father, forgive our grumbling, complaining lips...when we expect Heaven here on earth, and in so doing, fail to see all the overwhelmingly numerous gifts you have lavished on us!

Has the Lord blessed you with eyes to see the rich hues of murals He has painted in the day and evening skies? Has He offered you a bright, warm spring-like day in the midst of the coldness of winter? Or has He sent you instead, a pristine white snowscape that glistens as a newlywed's diamond? Were there birds singing their merry little tunes outside your window as you awakened? Could you hear their various trills, and did you sleep with a roof over your head? Did your heater gently hum all through the night? Were you greeted this morning by the sound of little feet and your spouse's sweet kiss? Were you met with the exuberance of your dog's happy-wag tail, or the rumbling motor of your cat? Were you able to smell the coffee that was brewing, and savor the homemade bread? Was there warm water for your shower? Were you able to sing your heart out as that blessing cascaded over you? Do you have a job awaiting you on Monday, when so many are without? Do you have a book and blanket to curl up with at the end of a long and arduous day? Are you able to read your Bible, knowing no one is going to come pounding on your door to imprison you for it? If not, was He not with you when you awakened, reassuring you He is there, no matter what the day may bring? That the body can be killed, yet the spirit cannot? (Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:4) Has not the Lord blessed us with immeasurble joy and reassurance that this is not our true home...that He has gone on to prepare a magnificient place that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, the things which He has prepared for us?! (1 Cor. 2:9) Are you saved by the living God? Oh praise God for that... for "what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us" that we should be called His children!! (1 John 3:1)

He has sent all the seasons, and all the blessings, and He, and He alone, determines what and when they are (oh is that sometimes hard to accept!)...but He says "what is that to you?" (John 21:22-23) He is our GOOD Father...and no matter yours or your neighbors, those near or in lands unknown...His gifts are always far too many to be counted, for each of us.

Oh Lord, may no miserable mouthing ever come from our mouths...instead, let us always praise Your holy name in all that You do. Yes, indeed, what is anything to us; open our eyes that we might see not what Your hand hasn't, but all that Your hand has provided...for Your very glorious reasons and purposes...out of Your incredibly vast love and care for us! Oh thank you, my God and my King.

Psalm 145

"¹ I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
² Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.

³ Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
⁴ One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
⁵ They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
⁶ They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
⁷ They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
⁸ The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
⁹ The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
¹⁰ All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
¹¹ They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
¹² so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
¹⁴ The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
¹⁶ You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹ My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever."

The Servant Who Still Speaks

2012-01-13T11:41:00.009-06:00

As we enter this new year, I am reminded that we serve a Saviour who is the reason for all seasons...how I pray that this new year find us more and more HIS servants. Where there's any pride in our hearts, may He remind us to be humble...knowing that the last shall be first, and the first shall be last (Matthew 20:16). How He cherishes the last! May we always remember that anything we have is not of ourselves, but simply gifts from His gracious hand. And may He use us for all those that are last, for HIS glory, and HIS purposes. The world tells us to use our days for ourselves, yet He created us to use them for HIM.

I pray in this new year that where there is loneliness, we readily embrace with warm, caring arms; where there's exhaustion, He give us deeply encouraging words; and where there's poverty, He give us a life-changing concern. The world mocks and looks down at those who are lonely, and downtrodden, and poor. Yet we are not of this world. May we always remember what is truly of value...and hold others' gaze with a twinkle in our eye, a warm smile on our face, and a hand that firmly grasps. May He show us how to give the gift of ourselves, in both word and deed, in reaching out to others...and in so doing, we give of our Lord who was King, yet came as the greatest servant of all.

"I’d like to suggest that we remind ourselves he still comes.

He comes to those as small as Mary’s baby and as poor as a carpenter’s boy.

He comes to those as young as a Nazarene teenager and as forgotten as an unnoticed kid in an obscure village.

He comes to those as busy as the oldest son of a large family, to those as stressed as the leader of restless disciples, to those as tired as one with no pillow for his head.

He comes and gives us the gift of himself.

He still comes. He still speaks."

~excerpted from Christmas Stories, by Max Lucado

"...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” ~Matthew 28:20

In this new year, may our lives "speak" of Him in all we do.

You Are Our Hiding Place

2011-12-11T14:05:00.000-06:00

If you live long enough, you will have those days where you wish you could just crawl back in bed and pull the covers over your head...and come out when the problem that chased you there in the first place...well, is gone. Yes, even as a Christian, (especially as a Christian, as this is not our real home!)...there will be days you will feel that way...we still live in a broken and scarred world resulting from the fall. There were times that David and Paul and many others felt overwhelmed with situations that came up in their lives. And yet, we know we have a hope to cling to...a hope that for all of us Christ-followers that enables us to pull back the covers from our head...even when the problem is still there. We know we can bow our head...to Him who is able to do all things well..and that He will do all things well. No matter what your situation: when He takes you to the Red Sea, He will deliver you; when those you trusted in toss you in a well, He will deliver you; when those that know Him not, seem like they're winning, He will deliver you. He will always deliver, although it may not be in your time or your way. His answers are from an eternal perspective; He is working out His plan for all eternity...for His greater glory and purposes.

Oh Lord, may we each learn to truly rest in Your greater glory and purposes that are being worked out in us, in everything You bring our way; may we always remember to keep our eye on the eternal view, and most of all, on You, our eternal Creator. Encourage our hearts to always trust You to see us through a day outside the covers. When we feel like pulling those covers over our head, remind us that:

You shall cover us with Your feathers, and under Your wings we shall take refuge (Psalm 91:4), for You, and you alone, are our hiding place. (Psalm 32:7; 119:114)

The One Who Holds All My Days

2011-12-02T16:28:00.003-06:00

"Sovereign God, I praise You that You work all things for the good of those who love you. Each problem, each trial I face today fits into Your marvelous plan for my life. Forgive me when I complain about my struggles. I'm sorry that I often fail to remember that You are in control, that You hold in Your powerful hand all things in my life.
I want to...trust You that the inconveniences and problems that I will encounter are by no means mistakes. Thank you for the assurance that You will work today's events into a life plan for my good and Your glory." (~excerpted from Diamonds in the Dust, devotional 12/2, by Joni Eareckson Tada)

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." ~Romans 8:28

Be Still, and Know He Knows Your Strength Is Spent

2011-10-31T15:03:00.043-05:00

"Dear Child, God does not say today, 'Be strong;'
He knows your strength is spent; He knows how long
The road has been, how weary you have grown,
For He who walked the earthly roads alone,
Each bogging lowland, and each rugged hill,
Can understand, and so He says, 'Be still,
And know that I am God.' The hour is late,
And you must rest awhile, and you must wait
Until life's empty reservoirs fill up
As slow rain fills an empty upturned cup.
Hold up your cup, dear child for God to fill,
He only asks today that you be still."
(~poem by Grace Noll Crowell, cited in
Springs in the Valley devotional by Mrs. Charles Cowman)

Be still and know that I am God...." ~Psalm 46:10

"Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm." ~Mark 4:39

Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself

2011-10-24T21:06:00.000-05:00

This is such an incredible, lovely, inspiring story! Be sure and watch the video at this link:
http://pages.simonandschuster.com/kissesfromkatie?mcd=z_110914_CLP_Kisses-From-Katie_Crosswalk

And here's her blog:
http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

May the Lord use each of us, for His purposes, and His glory.

^"Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity." ~1 Timothy 4:12

He is Building a Palace, Praise God!

2011-10-09T13:12:00.003-05:00

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” ~C.S. Lewis

"He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock." ~Luke 6:48

The Shoulder Put Down

2011-09-06T12:36:00.016-05:00

["Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." ~Galatians 6:2
"...God promises to help carry your burdens. (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7). One way He does that is by encouraging another believer to come alongside you and put their shoulder down so you can put part of your burden on them, and you can walk together. Bearing one another's burdens honors and glorifies God." (Sept. 5, 2011 devotion Turning Points, David Jeremiah)]

What a wonderful way of putting it...oh that I might always be that put-down shoulder for others! (Yes, even when I'm tired...especially when I'm tired and don't feel like going that one more mile.) Are you that shoulder put down, or simply a head full of doctrinal knowledge? Are you putting your faith into action, for:

^"14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! ²⁰ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²² Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
²⁵ Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." ~James 2:14-26

Make no mistake, we are definitely not saved by our works...salvation comes through Christ alone...yet works are a by-product of one's true salvation. Pray to be more and more that shoulder for others...that Christ's unselfishness reign increasingly through your life. He was the ultimate Servant. Pray for more increase in being that put-down shoulder for your spouse, your children, your neighbor, your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, the stranger(s) you encounter today. Sometimes that put-down shoulder can even be something as simple as a very warm smile and "hi" to that stranger you pass in the store, encouraging him onward...the world is watching to see how we are different. They are watching to see Jesus in us. Are you showing them you...or your Lord and Saviour?

Encourage...bear one another's burdens...therefore fulfilling the law of Christ....

"Keep going...we're here and will help be God's wings for you!"

"The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” ~Ruth 2:12

This Is Nothing Compared to Eternity in Hell!

2011-08-03T16:40:00.013-05:00

TOO hot, even for the smallest of critters.

(actual REAL temp, Farenheit, in the SHADE; I have no idea what the heat index is!)

Outside, even the critters are wilting...it is almost impossible to breath out there. I can't remember a time when I've ever seen temps like this before...actual temps...and I'm NOT a hot weather person, so this is even more incredulous, as far as I'm concerned. :) But it brings to mind eternity. I know that eventually, the Lord will give us some reprieve from this heat...here on earth. But for eternity, for those that have not accepted Christ as their personal Saviour, these temps will actually seem like a cool winter season compared to what's coming!

^"And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’" ~Luke 16:23-24

For those that die without accepting Christ, there is no release once death has come. Makes me think even more how important it is that I am always, always, always sharing Christ with others. For that someone, today might be the day of salvation. Are you sharing Jesus with those around you, knowing it's truly a matter of life or death...a matter of unbearable heat?

One year anniversary at our new residence

2011-08-02T14:33:00.021-05:00

The 1st of Aug. marked the year anniversary of my husband driving out of our driveway, to move 3 hours away to his new town and job, while I stayed behind until we found a house to purchase there. It would be 3 months...not until Nov...that we would be back together over here in our new home...with only seeing each other every other weekend until that time. How very, very long it seemed! We remember so clearly the day he had to leave...we both cried as he pulled out of the driveway, never having been apart like that before. But God was so gracious to us, and comforted and held us throughout that time, as He always does...and by mid-November, we were back together again as a family, in our beautiful home that He more than generously blessed us with. We are thankful for a job found quickly (3 1/2 months); a miracle in and of itself, considering the horrendous economic upheavels and unemployment our country is experiencing. I don't know why He chose to make our experience as short-lived as it was...His ways are always His own, for His own reasons and purposes. I'm just grateful that we had a faithful God to walk by our side through those what-seemed-at-the-time such very incredibly long days and nights...days of aching and missing the other...clinging to God...knowing that only He could close that distance of miles, and only He could see us through that time. Of course, as Christians, we know it is only truly God that can see us through *any* time.

One of the things I was so going to miss, though, were all the critters...especially the many and varied birds that we had at our prior home. Yet God knew even this...how kind and fatherly is my Heavenly Papa to care about such a small detail...especially for such an avid bird-lover as I. Not only that, but bluebirds (outside of loons), are my very favorite bird, and we have *lots* of them here! Below are a few snapshots of some of our various residents at our new home (definitely not all-inclusive!)...it looks like a few of them are singing His praises, as well! :)

"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" ~ Matthew 6:26

(checking out the church..."hello in there!")

(praise God from whom all blessings flow...praise Him all creatures here below...)

(can we say TOO hot out???, but another season will come...)

"O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! ~Psalm 8:9

One nation under God...

2011-07-01T14:42:00.003-05:00

"But where says some is the King of America? I'll tell you Friend, he reigns above...." ~Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." ~George Washington

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD...." ~Psalm 33:12

Do Not So Entertain...

2011-06-30T14:30:00.013-05:00

"We are in this life, as it were, in another man's home, and the world is our Inn; do not so entertain thyself in the Inn of this world for a day as to have thy mind withdrawn from longing after thy heavenly home." ~ Gerhard

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

2011-05-10T16:26:00.003-05:00

Our 10 month old grandson, Cathan, on Mother's Day, at our piano:

READY??

TADA!

"...And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” ~Matthew 21:16

Heavenly watering...

2011-02-25T15:49:00.012-06:00

I was sitting outside with our Yorkies a couple of days ago, and noticed this little flower...the first one up, in one of our flower beds near the front of our house. Up out of the dirt in such glorious form, it was...watered by His tender, loving care which brought it forth.

"Look up to-day, O parched plant, and open thy leaves and flowers for a heavenly watering." ~ Charles H. Spurgeon

"Awake, thou wintry earth...! Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth Your ancient gladness! Christ is risen." ~ Thomas Blackburn

Indeed He is.

Tranfiguring all the moments of our lives....

2011-02-23T11:18:00.012-06:00

This quote came in my email today, and I found it so appropriate, as I woke up feeling rather lonely, being new to this area and not knowing anyone yet, while still trying to recover from being sick and in the hospital.

"Loneliness comes over us sometimes as a sudden tide. It is one of the terms of our humanness, and, in a sense, therefore, incurable. Yet I have found peace in my loneliest times not only through acceptance of the situation, but through making it an offering to God, who can transfigure it into something for the good of others." ~ Elisabeth Elliot

I'm sure many of you know the incredible paths of loneliness God called Elisabeth to.

One of the highlights of my day, is how my husband has always left me a note to awaken to every morning. Although my husband had no idea I would awaken feeling a bit lonely today...God knew...and I love how He moved my husband's heart to share just the right verse with me:

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24, KJV)

And so I'm left praying that I might always learn to deeply and richly rejoice...truly rejoice in my very depths...in every day's events the Lord has put before me. And may I always make whatever He places before me, an offering to Him, who is the miracle worker who *can* transfigure *all* things into something for the good of others. Praise be to God!

Hearts for Him

2010-11-11T12:36:00.003-06:00

"Give us, O Lord, steadfast hearts that cannot be dragged down by false loves; give us courageous hearts that cannot be worn down by trouble; give us righteous hearts that cannot be sidetracked by unholy or unworthy goals. Give to us also, our Lord and God, understanding to know You, wisdom to recognize You, and a faithfulness that will bring us to see You face to face." ~Thomas a Kempis

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me." ~ Psalm 51:10

Pilgrims and Strangers Made for Another World...

2010-10-18T12:03:00.024-05:00

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world...Probably earthly pleasures were never made to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same." ~ C. S. Lewis (emphasis mine)

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." ~ Hebrews 11:13-16

And a real man is...

2010-10-12T21:32:00.009-05:00

"'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

Let not the mighty man glory in his might,

Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

But let him who glories glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me,

That I am the Lord...For in these I delight,' says the Lord." ~ Jeremiah 9:23-24

My name is graven on His hands....

2010-10-08T21:10:00.033-05:00

Before the Throne of God

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

When Satan tempts me to despair
and tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died
my sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
to look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me.

Before the throne of God, I come
Before the throne of God, I come

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
my perfect spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I Am,
the King of glory and of grace.

My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in Heaven, He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased with His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God.

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...." ~Isaiah 49:16

The Irish acorn doesn't fall far from the tree! :)

2010-10-05T20:57:00.012-05:00

"Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands." ~Psalm 119:73

(the tree) :)

I only know He is my Saviour....

2010-09-16T15:23:00.049-05:00

As some of you know, there was a very kind person who warned us that the house we had a contract on, had a long history of flooding. So at present, we are still looking for another home in the country to put another offer in on. This has been one of those seasons that we all experience in this broken world, as life will never be pain-free until Heaven. First my husband lost his job in April, due to the funeral home being sold and them bringing in all their own staff. He then started a new job on Aug. 2nd, and we were to have closed on our house on Sept. 10th, yet had to withdraw from our contract due to the above reasons. As of yesterday, my husband's truck had the gear shift break, and we are looking at a big price tag getting it fixed. It is currently in the shop. Yet there are many wonderful things written through all of this!

First off, my husband has a job, ptL!!, in a time when it is becoming increasily more and more difficult for individuals to find work. Secondly, we were protected (!!) from buying a house that has a history of flooding...this fact being made known to us within only a few days of closing. Thirdly, because my husband does now have a job, we have the money to fix the truck!! So many blessings in the midst of all this turmoil!! Everything is very fluid right now (but isn't life, anyway??)...the only unmoveable in our life IS God. I don't know what all else awaits us, but I DO know that God has us well in His loving care. As Aaron Shust says in his song, My Savior, My God:

"I am not skilled to understand

What God has willed, what God has planned

I only know at His right hand

Stands one who is my Saviour."

May you have a blessed day, knowing that God, who ALWAYS remains a constant...reigns supreme above all, and that nothing touches a hair on your head, but that which He has allowed for HIS purposes, and HIS reasons. As my Tabletalk devotional said last night:

"Thirteen years passed from the time Joseph entered slavery at age seventeen until he became the pharoah's right-hand man in Egypt at thirty years of age." (Can you imagine...13 years?!!) "God, of course, had the greater good in view the whole time, eventually putting Joseph in a place where he would save many people. This truth applies to us today. God providentially directs all things - even pain - toward His greater good. Even when we cannot see how, the Lord is working all things to the ends of our good and His glory....our Father is sovereign, and He is working for our ultimate good and for the advance of His kingdom even when things seem darkest to us." (emphasis and pink wording mine)

Yet, "...we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." ~ Romans 8:28, KJV

Now...

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit [!]" ~ Romans 15:13, KJV

Persevere...Father does know best!

2010-09-08T10:07:00.003-05:00

"We must not measure the reality of love by feelings, but by results. Feelings are very delusive. They often depend on mere natural temperament, and the devil wrests them to our hurt. But if you are earnest in striving to serve and endure for God's sake, if you persevere amid temptation, dryness, weariness, and desolation, you may rest assured that your love is real." ~Jean Nicolas Grou

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." ~James 1:12

"As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." ~James 5:11

"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." ~ I Timothy 4:16

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." ~ Hebrews 10:36

"By faith he left Egypt....; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible." ~ Hebrews 11:27

"(Love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." ~ I Corinthians 13:7

The Essence of Faith...

2010-08-28T11:23:00.046-05:00

"A saint is to put forth his faith in prayer, and afterwards follow his prayer with faith."
~Vavasor Powell

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." ~Hebrews 11:1

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit...." ~Romans 5:5

God's Plan and The Wonderful Surprises It Brings!

2010-08-26T12:22:00.002-05:00

"Rejoice in knowing that you belong to God and that He is conforming you to the image of His Son. See every event of this day as part of that process. Yield to the Spirit's prompting, and take heart that God will accomplish His will." ~ John MacArthur

"Did you ever run for shelter in a storm, and find fruit which you expected not? Did you never go to God for safeguard, driven by outward storms, and there find unexpected fruit?" ~ John Owen

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." ~ I Corinthians 2:9

Leading Us Safely Onward

2010-08-18T15:33:00.003-05:00

"It would have been easy for God to show us the plan for this period, as He had it all fixed up...But then again we would not have learned that most valuable lesson, so He left us in the dark and gave us only one thing at a time." ~ Maria Augusta Von Trapp (In reference to the real journey her family experienced that was depicted in the "Sound of Music")

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." ~ Isaiah 42:16

Made to glorify God

2010-08-12T12:05:00.015-05:00

"Man, made in the image of God, has a purpose - to be in relationship to God, who is there. Man forgets his purpose and thus he forgets who he is and what life means." ~ Francis Schaeffer

"Let us be exhorted to exalt God Alone, and to ascribe to him all the glory of redemption. Let us endeavor to obtain and increase in, a sensibleness of our great dependence on God… to mortify a self-dependant and self-righteous disposition. Man is naturally exceeding, prone to exalt himself, and depend on his own power or goodness… But this doctrine should teach us to exalt God alone; as by trust and reliance, so by praise. Let him that glorieth, glory in the Lord. Hath any man hope that he is converted and sanctified.. that his sins are forgiven, and he received into God’s favour, and exalted to the honour and blessedness of being his child, and an heir to eternal life? Let him give God all the glory; who alone makes him to differ from the worst of men in this world, or the most miserable of the damned in hell ...Is any man eminent in holiness, and abundant in good works, let him take nothing of the glory of it to himself, but ascribe it unto him whose 'workmanship we are, created in Christ Jesus unto good works'." ~Jonathan Edwards

Even "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." ~Psalm 19:1

Sola gratia...in grace alone...

2010-08-11T16:21:00.005-05:00

"It is grace at the beginning, and grace at the end. So that when you and I come to lie upon our death beds, the one thing that should comfort and help and strengthen us there is the thing that helped us in the beginning. Not what we have been, not what we have done, but the Grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. The Christian life starts with grace, it must continue with grace, it ends with grace. Grace wondrous grace. By the grace of God I am what I am. Yet not I, but the Grace of God which was with me." ~Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." ~ Ephesians 2:8-9

Our newest grandson (5 1/2 weeks old)...what joy he spreads around!!

2010-08-05T21:08:00.011-05:00

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well!" ~Psalm 139:14

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart..." ~Proverbs 15:30

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful...." ~ Proverbs 15:13

Trusting in God's Will for Our Lives

2010-08-01T07:51:00.028-05:00

Have you ever had a plan for your life, and yet find that, at least for the time being, God has a different one? How hard it is to lay aside where we would want to be,

knowing God is taking us where HE has planned for us. May we rest in His sovereign hand, trusting that He knows the desires of our heart...but with that, He knows what is best for us, for HIS purposes, and HIS glory. When I read these two quotes this week, how I felt they so spoke to what I want most of all...GOD's wisdom and HIS plan for our lives. May we joyfully go where He has planned, resting in HIS perfect will for our lives.

"Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and sovereignty...acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours." ~ J. I. Packer

"I want Thy plan, O God, for my life. May I be happy and contented whether in the homeland or on the foreign field; whether married or alone, in happiness or sorrow, health or sickness, prosperity or adversity - I want Thy plan, O God, for my life. I want it; oh, I want it." ~ Oswald J. Smith

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." ~ Proverbs 19:21

Laughter sent from God...

2010-07-29T16:00:00.023-05:00

"Whence comes this idea that if what we are doing is fun, it can't be God's will? The God who made giraffes, a baby's fingernails, a puppy's tail, a crooknecked squash, the bobwhite's call, and a young girl's giggle, has a sense of humor. Make no mistake about that." ~ Catherine Marshall

"There is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who love Thee for Thine own sake, whose joy Thou Thyself art. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to Thee, of Thee, for Thee; this it is, and there is no other." ~Augustine of Hippo

"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The LORD has done great things for them.'" ~Psalm 126:2

How successful are you?

2010-07-27T17:41:00.000-05:00

"To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; To seek Him, the greatest adventure; To find him, the greatest human achievement." ~ Augustine

Our earthly resume...what is yours?

"1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake....

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

~Psalm 23:1-3,6

Give Us Jesus....

2010-07-19T16:16:00.054-05:00

Have you ever listened to the song by Fernando Ortega called Give Me Jesus? It's is one of my husband's and my very favorite songs. (It was performed by Fernando at Ruth Graham's funeral [shown below] ...such a gracious lady and an incredible heroine of the Way to me. But this post isn't about her...it's about my Jehovah Jireh...the Lord who provides.)

We have had a bit of a rugged season of it lately, with unemployment, and then my multiple sclerosis has been acting up incredibly. We had so wanted to get to church on Sunday, but I went to bed Sat. night at 8, unable to even hold my back up any longer. My dh rubbed my muscles for a while, trying to help me get to sleep. When I awakened Sunday morning, we knew we would not be going anywhere. There was just no way, never mind that it was going to be 101 out...enough to keep anyone with MS home, no matter how one is doing! I have the best husband in the world, though. He never grumbles or complains, just lovingly takes care of me, even when his chips are down. He's definitely not the best cook in the world, but thank goodness for tv dinners...they have fed us many a time when we are overwhelmed and he has his hands full taking care of me. No matter what our fare, though, it is the LORD who always sits down at our table with us, seasoning richly our food and our lives with MUCH grace. It is at times like this, that I realize even more so, how incredibly blessed we are to have each other...and even more than that, to have a SAVIOUR...one who cares SO incredibly about us, going before, behind, and beside us, no matter what the path He has ordained in our lives.

So if you so desire, you might can have all the fleeting world, yes you just might can...but for us...oh for us...just give us Jesus. THAT is enough. He is, and always will be, our cup runneth over.........

14 But as for me, I will always have hope;

I will praise you more and more.

15 My mouth will tell of your righteousness,

of your salvation all day long,

though I know not its measure.

16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;

I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.

17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,

and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

18 Even when I am old and gray,

do not forsake me, O God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,

your might to all who are to come." ~Psalm 71:14-18

God is aware of all our moments...

2010-07-14T10:52:00.025-05:00

"His presence is known when we meditate on the fact that the sands of the sea are numbered by Him, that He keeps a count of the waves. Astounded, we reflect that every drop of rain, every day and every hour of all the centuries, everything past and everything to come are all facts of which He is aware." ~ John Cassian

...they are all safe in His hands.

Staying the Course, Come What May...

2010-07-11T14:04:00.002-05:00

"You must stay upon the Lord; and come what may - winds, waves, cross-seas, thunder, lightning, frowning rocks, roaring breakers - no matter what, you must lash yourself to the helm, and hold fast your confidence in God's faithfulness, His covenant engagement, His everlasting love in Christ Jesus." ~ Richard Fuller

My goal is God...

2010-07-10T13:08:00.017-05:00

"My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace,

Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God."

~ Oswald Chambers

Rejoice in the works of His hands!

2010-06-09T12:07:00.008-05:00

"There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice." ~ John Calvin

" The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad...." ~Psalm 97:1

The faith which first lived in your grandmother and mother....

2010-05-09T15:16:00.004-05:00

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." ~ Abraham Lincoln

"I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also." ~ 2 Timothy 1:5

My mom died less than a week after this picture was taken. I was 26 at the time, and to this day I miss her. But how grateful I am that she raised me up sharing always her faith in the Lord with me. I know that I will see her again one day because of this. Thank you God for such a Godly mother.

Life will become one great romance when God is doing the aiming...

2010-05-08T11:32:00.003-05:00

"A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, 'I can't take any more.' Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God's hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him' (Job 13:15).

...even though you cannot see Him right now and cannot understand what He is doing, you know Him.... Faith is the supreme effort of your life -- throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God.

...He wants us to venture our all with total abandoned confidence in Him.... The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we will take this view, life will become one great romance -- a glorious opportunity of seeing wonderful things all the time." (pink emphases mine) ~ excerpt from May 8, My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

“You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses” ~from comic strip, Ziggy

"I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure...." ~Psalm 16: 8-9

Pondering unemployment's most powerful God moments...

2010-05-03T11:48:00.011-05:00

The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's own or real life. The truth is of course that what one call the interruptions are precisely one's real life - the life God is sending one day by day." ~ C. S. Lewis

"God does not waste suffering; if he ploughs it is because He purposes a crop." ~ John Oswald Sanders

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered." ~ G. K. Chesterton

"The little troubles and worries of life may be as stumbling blocks in our way, or we may make them stepping-stones to a
nobler character and to Heaven. Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

"...can you bear uncertainty? Can you bear not knowing how God is going to provide for your most urgent needs and still trust that he will? It is a question that Jesus wants all of his disciples to wrestle with. There are simply going to be times when we don't know where the provision is going to come from. Circumstances will look precarious, sometimes foreboding and threatening. Plans are going to fall through. If these things happened to Jesus, we should not be surprised when they happen to us....

Jesus does not want us to be governed by fear at such times. He wants us governed by faith. The reason is that the uncertainty is only apprent uncertainty. Our future and our provision and our ultimate triumph are certain to God. He has all the foreknowledge, power, resources, and desire to turn everything for good for those who love him and are called by him (Romans 8:28).

...uncertain seasons are usually the most powerful God moments we experience. They often put God on display more than other seasons...." ~ John Piper's newsletter, Can You Bear Uncertainty, April 2010

"Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore." ~Psalm 125:1-2

"What does it mean to trust the Lord? It means looking to him as the source of our security and putting our faith in the grace, love, power, and protection of God when the inevitable pressures of life come. It means knowing as the psalmist did that the mountains surround Jerusalem, God himself surrounds and shields his people. When we trust the Lord...even though there are problems the size of mountains facing us, we can cry out to the Lord who created the mountains and is able to move them. As we focus on him and his truth, he will encourage our hearts and help us to claim the great promise of verse 2: The Lord will surround and protect his people, now and forever.

LORD, I put my trust in you today. You are my security and protection, my shield, my fortress, and my hiding place, and I praise you. When...troubles multiply, help me to remember that you are ever faithful and that you surround and protect me, both now and forever." ~ excerpted from One Year Book of Praying Through the Bible, quoted in God Daily Promises email 5/2/10.

God's greatest blessings can never be taken away...

2010-04-30T15:13:00.062-05:00

Last night, my dh and I watched In His Steps. We'd read the book years ago, but had never seen the movie before. Although not as good as the book, we still really enjoyed it. A pearl of wisdom spoken by the pastor, so spoke to our unemployment situation right now:

"Sometimes God's greatest blessings come to a man when he finds himself stripped of all the temporal securities he's always depended upon, so he can fully enjoy the thrill of childlike trust in Almighty God."

As well, this came today in my email today:

"The heart is rich when it is content, and it is always content when its desires are fixed on God." ` ~ Miguel Cordero-Munoz

May you have a blessed day enjoying the simple pleasures of life...yet most of all, may you enjoy the richest pleasure of all...that of the grace and fellowship of Jesus Christ!

"Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence." ~ Psalm 21:6

Rejoice in the Lord, o my soul!

2010-04-29T14:26:00.019-05:00

Returning from another day of job searching...

"O my soul, tune your harp to a glad song of thanksgiving! Go to your rest rejoicing, for you are no desolate wanderer, but a beloved child, watched over, cared for, supplied...by your Lord." ~Charles H. Spurgeon

"Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him!" ~Psalm 64:10

"The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;...." ~Psalm 37:23 (ESV)

Our suffering...His glory...

2010-04-27T15:37:00.026-05:00

I have posted, below, a video on suffering. Some of my favorite quotes from it are:

"So that they might trust God's heart, even when they cannot trace His hand." ~ Charles H. Spurgeon

How I love that! :), as we cannot see what His hand is writing right now with my dh's unemployment, but we know we can trust His heart...always, always, we can trust His hand. We have seen this time & again in our lives.

"When we suffer, there will sometimes be mystery. Will there also be faith? Yes, if our attention is focused more on the cross, and on the God of the cross, than on the suffering itself." ~ C.J. Mahaney

The cross IS the great giver of hope...it is the crusher of discouragement...thanks be to God!

"Those who recognize that their suffering in this life is never as great or as serious as their sins, find joy in an unexpected place in the midst of suffering. Because the great mystery is not "why do I suffer?". No. The great mystery is "why would the sinless Son of God suffer as my substitute on the cross, for my sins, receiving the wrath that I deserve so that I might be forgiven and declared righteous?". THAT, is THE great mystery of mercy. And that mercy, can, and will, make all the difference in the midst of the severest forms of suffering." ~ C.J. Mahaney

Thank you Father for this great mystery of your love for us. Everything else can vaporize in this life, but that never can. Thank you that YOU are the great ever-constant, never-changing, life-presever in the midst of the calm, as well as turbulent seas.

T4G 2010 -- Session 8 -- Matt Chandler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Lastly, Matt Chandler said that he had a B.A. in Bible...that pastoring was all he knew to do, and who else would have wanted to employ him with a B.A. in Bible? I had to chuckle at that, as well as feel a deep comradeship with that comment, as my dh and I have already gone that route. My husband is a quiet man, so kind and gracious at serving those that have lost loved ones. Perhaps one of the reasons he's so good at it is that he doesn't say much, but rather comes alongside grieving families, silently praying over each family as he tends to their funeral and memorial needs and wants. We had viewed it as a ministry, as well...he would mention the loss and impending funeral, and we would join together to uplift those that are hurting so...how we already miss that intimate contact for uplifting them in intercessory prayer.

His college degree is in mortuary science. He's not a man extremely knowledgeable about computers. He knows no other fields. He's quiet and reserved, yet strongly empathetic for others. He is perfect for tending to grieving families, and conducting funerals...but not oh so right for the rest of the outside business world. Gregarious he would not be called. Life of the party, no. Technological whiz, no. But he is always a come-alongside-others person...the strong, silent type, ready and always willing to do what needs to be done...to be the arm that others lean upon. So from a human stand-point, much like Matt had pondered, we wonder what else he can do, since this is what he has always done. This is all he really knows and is trained for. And he is magnificent at it. But nowhere to employ those gifts right now.

Yet we know that God knows all this...just as he knows the very number of hairs on our head. Out of all the innumerable sparrows in the world, He knows when each solitary one falls to the ground. As numerous are the sands on the shore, He knows every grain of them. This did not catch God by surprise, but is something He is intricately working and weaving together, for His glory, and His purposes alone. Which is really what our lives should be about, anyway. Not my life, but yours, O Lord. We may not see the end of the story, but it is being written, and being written magnificently, praise be to God, the master weaver, and author, and loving Father of all things. Somehow, it seems fitting to close with the Doxology. May we each in all the various struggles and trials that come our way in this life, remember that God is always worthy of our praise. Our family's burdens, for sure, are so light, compared to so many...so much to be thankful for....

DOXOLOGY

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." ~ Job 1:21

God's love in letting us be undone

2010-04-22T09:51:00.004-05:00

Today marks a week since my husband's last day at his job where he worked as a funeral director. Still no work...jobs in his field are not a dime a dozen. Once someone is at a place, they usually stay there for years and years, much as my husband has always done. Until the funeral home was bought out, new staff brought in, and his job ended. But I know there must be a reason...God is not a random God of happenstance. In a quote email that came today, it said the following, which so spoke to my heart...how true it is:

"The life you have constructed may be falling apart, but the life God has fashioned is not. His wisdom has known all things before the foundations of the world— including you. If God has let you be undone, He has allowed it for a reason.

Do you realize how thoroughly rooted in eternity your life is? It was not an afterthought in the mind of a play-it-by-ear God. He has already made provision for it. Before the foundation of the world, He did at least two things: He brought forth His wisdom; and He thought of you (Ephesians 1:4). His wisdom and your existence went hand in hand. Does that boggle your mind? It should. Rest in the assurance of a forever-wise God." ~Chris Tiegreen, The One Year Walk with God Devotional

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD." ~ Isaiah 55:8

God of the land of unemployment...

2010-04-15T12:22:00.000-05:00

Well, today is my dh's last day at his job. He is a funeral director/embalmer, and the funeral home has been sold and bought by 2 brothers who are both funeral director/embalmers. They are not keeping on the old staff, so everyone is out of a job as of 5 p.m. today. Our insurance ends, as well, at the end of this month. Yet we know that God is even the God of the land of unemployment...we can trust in Him implicitly to take care of us.

In the midst of all this change, though, God did an incredibly comforting thing for us this week, to remind us that He is the God of all our needs, not just the big needs, but the little needs and wants, as well. For the past 14 years we have lived here, my dh and I have so wanted fresh cows' milk, much as we had when we lived in VT. But we have been unable to find any. During the time that my dh has worked at his current job, he has been able to buy from a health food store near there, some bottled cows' milk which although pasteurized, it was at least non-homogenized. That meant that the layer of cream was still on top of the milk. It was from an Amish farm in Iowa, and the health food store bought it from there. On Monday night of this week, while I was savoring my after-dinner glass of creamy, semi-fresh milk, my dh said, "You know honey, we won't have any more of your special milk after this Thursday." (He had been driving an hour each way to work every day, so the store would now be too far away to continue to drive to just for milk.) I acknowledged that, lamenting how I'd miss it, but it had been delicious while I had it. The next morning, Tuesday, a Mennonite farmer was coming out to disc our front field, and my dh and I chatted with him for a few minutes before he got started. While chatting, I asked him if he knew anywhere where we could get fresh cows' milk at. (We thought he might know someone that had it, but probably not someone that sells it. But...we figured it wouldn't hurt to at least ask.) He said he did know someone, and right-away he gave them a call! So my dh and I went over there that evening, and bought some from them. When we got home, we poured us each a glass, and were absolutely DELIGHTED that we once again, after all these years, had really, truly 100% FRESH cows' milk! I can't tell you HOW good that is...it is like the difference between store-bought bread, and home-made bread...there is just NO comparison. :) We now had not just the semi-real thing, like we had been getting from the health food store, but the ABSOLUTELY 100% fresh-from-the farm cows' milk! No steroids, no grain...completely grass fed cows! And to top it all, they are in the process of getting ready to make home-made cheese and butter from their cows' milk, and as soon as that is up and running, they will sell those to us as well...how incredible is that? :)

As we were driving home, we discussed how we'd lived here 14 years, and God had not provided us with finding a place to get fresh cows' milk from. But how He knew that our Amish bottled, non-homogenized semi-fresh milk from the health store was going to end as of tonight, and how I would so miss it. How good God is, during a time when our life is completely topsy turvy, not knowing where a job will come from for my husband, nor knowing if we will now have to move quite a ways away....He provides us with milk to replace the health food milk. And not only that, but the 100% completely farm-fresh milk that is both non-homogenized *and* non-pasteurized, from grass-fed cows, direct from the farm, as we've wanted all these years! How good of Him, as well, to wait and give us this special gift when we needed that touch of His hand the most. Even His timing was perfect & so kind. If God can know, and care about, our desire for something as simple and unimportant in the big scheme of things, as farm-fresh cow's milk...He can certainly know and care very much about the very-important-in-the-scheme-of-things unemployment land we are now venturing into. God is indeed such a COMPASSIONATE Daddy!!...loving us down to the tiniest, most insignificant details of our lives. Oh how I LOVE Him!!!

This quote came in my email the other day through a quote subscription service I belong to, and I think it so well summarizes God in all the moments of our lives:

"When all other doors in life are closed to us, Jesus will be for us the ever open door. If we really believe this then no situation in life will ever be hopeless. For to call any situation hopeless is to shut the door on God." ~ Anthony M. Coniaris

On Christ the sold rock we stand! All other ground IS shifting, but Christ stands immovable beneath our feet...PTL...He IS always worthy to be praised!!

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." ~Hebrews 13:8

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Cor. 5:7

Giving unto Him our seasons....

2010-04-15T12:19:00.059-05:00

I've known these songs for so long...I'm probably dating myself when I mention them, though. :) The first one, In His Time, I've been humming off and on each day since my husband found out they would all be out of a job come today. Unto Thee O Lord, I find I am constantly humming today, as well as the other He originally put on my heart. For those whom do not know Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour...who might wonder where God is at this time...know that God is the God of ALL the seasons of our lives. He is ALWAYS there, working everything out in His timing, while we daily give it all unto Him.

In His Time Unto Thee O Lord

by The Maranatha Singers

Were You There?

2010-04-02T09:32:00.012-05:00

(Were You There, performed by Selah)

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." ~John 3:16-17

Redeeming love has been my theme...

2010-04-01T17:41:00.016-05:00

...And will be 'till I die.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 ...He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows...

5 ...he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
...for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,...

11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

12 ...because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors. ~Isaiah 53:1-12 (NIV)

What Christ meant the church to truly be...

2010-03-30T12:37:00.009-05:00

Yesterday's devotion in Seize the Day with Deitrich Bonhoeffer was so excellent:

"'So there is no are of the church which is not wholly and exclusively subject to Christ. It is a dreadful reduction of the New Testament concept if today the church is often seen to have its existence only in preaching and the administration of the sacrament.' ~The Way to Freedom

Church is the life together of those who belong to Christ and who meet together--not only for common worship, but also for companionship, hospitality, friendship, common concerns, and participating in the joys and struggles of life.

Meditation

The church is to be a life together. This can never be restricted to the sanctuary, but includes the home, the workplace, and the whole of life."

May God bless each of you with such a church, and may you each help your own church to become what Christ does truly mean and want it to be!

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." ~Galatians 6:2
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." ~Acts 2:42

He Only Asks...

2010-03-23T12:43:00.001-05:00

"He only asks thee to yield thyself to Him, that He may work in thee to will and to do by His own mighty power. Thy part is to yield thyself, His part is to work; and never, never will He give thee any command which is not accompanied by ample power to obey it. Take no thought for the morrow in this matter; but abandon thyself with a generous trust to thy loving Lord, who has promised never to call His own sheep out into any path without Himself going before them to make the way...." ~Hannah Whitall Smith

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths" ~Psalm 25:4

Whatever God chooses for us....

2010-03-19T21:06:00.018-05:00

I have a flip calendar on my microwave by Nancy Leigh DeMoss at Revive Our Hearts. I loved what it said for today:

"We tend to think that what is really good is the fulfillment of our desires. But, in reality, the highest good in the universe is whatever God chooses for our lives."

What a huge nugget of truth in those 2 sentences!

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord...." ~Jeremiah 29:11

Home-keeping hearts are happiest!

2010-03-19T09:46:00.006-05:00

"Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best."
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young -- a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you." ~Psalm 84: 3-4

You Alone Know

2010-03-10T11:42:00.001-06:00

"I ask you neither for health nor for sickness, for life nor for death; but that you may dispose of my health and my sickness, my life and my death, for your glory...You alone know what is expedient for me; you are the sovereign master, do with me according to your will. Give to me, or take away from me, only conform my will to yours. I know but one thing, Lord, that it is good to follow you, and bad to offend you. Apart from that, I know not what is good or bad in anything. I know not which is most profitable to me, health or sickness, wealth or poverty, nor anything else in the world. That discernment is beyond the power of men or angels, and is hidden among the secrets of your providence, which I adore, but do not seek to fathom." ~Blaise Pascal

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD." ~Isaiah 55:8 (ESV)

Serving Your Neighbor

2010-03-09T14:00:00.010-06:00

I was reading today's devotional in Seize the Day with Deitrich Bonhoeffer, by Charles Ringma. It was so wonderful, speaking about how important it is to serve our neighbor. May it speak to you, and may God always show you more and more ways to serve those He places in your path, both near and far. Below is today's devotion in green, in its entirety:

In the Face of the Other (Mark 9:37)

"From God he hears the word: 'If you want my goodness to stay with you, then serve your neighbor, for in him God comes to you Himself." -- No Rusty Swords

Freely, God's goodness comes to us. But God's good gifts to place us under obligation. This obligation has nothing to do with trying to pay God back. That is simply impossible. But God's good gifts affect us and transform us in such a way that we desire to become like the Giver. In expressing this desire, we aim to treat others in the same way that God has treated us. In relating appropriately to others, and in serving them, we ourselves are blessed. For in the needy neighbor, we meet the Christ who calls us to the gentle art of compassion.

Meditation:
In Serving the least of our brothers and sisters, we find the gentle approval of the Man of Sorrows.

"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." ~Matthew 9:13

The Best Things in Life...

2010-03-08T13:16:00.005-06:00

"The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

" The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." ~Song of Solomon 2:12

What do you count of worth?

2010-03-03T21:33:00.012-06:00

"That which makes the men of God so great and impressive is not, first and foremost, what they have accomplished. It is rather, how they are able by God's help, to pass through the greatest difficulties and the darkest hours; when, like Abraham, they give God the dearest they have; when, like Daniel, they brave the greatest dangers; and when like Moses, they endure that which is well nigh impossible." ~G. Steinberger

"Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return." ~Job 15:21

Never underestimate what God can do with your mustard seed of service...

2010-02-19T13:41:00.006-06:00

Do you ever feel as if you just don't seem to be doing or accomplishing much in your service to God? I have MS and lupus, and there's so very little I feel like I contribute to God's kingdom for Him. In my devotions this morning, Spurgeon said this, which so spoke to my heart. I hope it does to yours, as well:

"When Andrew went to find his brother, he little imagined how eminent Simon would become. Simon Peter was worth ten Andrews so far as we can gather from sacred history, and yet Andrew was instrumental in bringing him to Jesus. You may be very deficient in talent yourself, and yet you may be the means of drawing to Christ one who shall become eminent in grace and service. You may but speak a word to a child, and in that child there may be slumbering to a noble heart, which shall stir the Christian church in years to come. Andrew has only two talents, but he finds Peter. Go thou and do likewise." (Feb. 19th devotion in Evening by Evening by Charles H, Spurgeon.)

"'Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men.'" ~Matthew 4:19

Cling to thy real Home!

2010-02-18T12:16:00.010-06:00

I have a little flip calendar in our kitchen, sitting on our microwave, that I've had for about 14 or more years. Still I never tire reading the quotes from it each day. I've kept it on Jan 19th, though, for almost a month now, because I have so loved the quote on that day (see below in green). I think I so love this saying, because I feel it speaks to me that it doesn't truly matter *what* home one has, as long as God is in it. No matter how the home may appear or appraise in the realestate market, as long as CHRIST is the foundation of it inside, the rest is mere chaff. We can be guaranteed that many tomorrows from today, it one day will not be still standing. Yet, if God builds the home, it is not in vain...can never be in vain. Christ is the solid rock on whom we stand, and any home lived in with HIM, will always be worth far more than its nominal weight in gold.

"Cling to thy home! If there the meanest shed
Yield thee a hearth and shelter for thy head,
And some poor plot, with vegetables stored,
Be all that heaven allots thee for thy board,
Unsavory bread, and herbs that scatter'd grow
Wild on the river-bank or mountain-brow;
Yet e'en this cheerless mansion shall provide
More heart's repose than all the world beside." ~Leonidas

"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." ~Matthew 7:25-27 (ESV)

"Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain...." ~Psalm 127:1 (ESV)

Saints who have gone before...

2010-02-17T14:28:00.002-06:00

This is one of the **very** best books my husband and I have ever come across. I'd read different daily devotions out of it before, reading about this person, or that person...but this year, my husband and I both started going through it faithfully day by day. It is definitely a 5 star book/devotional...we can't recommend it highly enough. It is one of those that will tremendously uplift and inspire you!

(You can click on the picture to read more about it and find where you can buy it.)(You can also find it by clicking on Amazon.)

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." ~Hebrews 13:7

God's sovereignty in the waiting

2010-01-25T18:41:00.007-06:00

Do you ever wish that God would answer your prayers on your timetable? If we but only knew the treasures He was daily giving us, by making us wait! I read this quote the other day & loved how it expressed the gloriousness of God in the waiting:

"The most glorious promises of God are generally fulfilled in such a wonderous manner that He steps forth to save us at a time when there is the least appearance of it." ~C.H. von Bogatzy (Lutheran hymnwriter in Germany, 1690-1774)

Thank you Lord for your care, and answers, and timing, beyond anything I could ever imagine!

God's Little One

2009-12-15T14:40:00.013-06:00

This is one of God's most incredible knitting jobs I have ever seen Him do...please meet my cousin twice removed...Audrey...isn't she **beautiful**?!? God definitely outdid Himself when He made her!! The world has it all wrong...beauty does not lie in brains nor brawn...but rather God's creative hand in all things, great as well as small...many times the very small. When I look at Audrey, I think of:

"The LORD said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." ~1 King 19:11-12

Audrey is that whisper of God that passes by...letting the world know, minute by minute, through all her ups and downs within her little human form...that a good and gracious and wonderful God exists. Can you see Him in her?...I can.

At this Christmastime, I think of how the world looked for a majestic King to show His might & power, and yet He sent us a tiny, helpless baby in a manger. That is what I think God did with Audrey...his might & power shown through a baby with multiple problems in the world's eyes, but oh so very significant, and "just right" in God's. While many "oohed and ahhed" seventeen months ago, in nurseries all around the world...over all the "normal" babies born that day...God especially oohed and ahhed over this little one. And He has not ceased being delighted since!! I would tell today's culture, if you were to look with the eyes of God, you would truly see how very significant Audrey really is...all you have to do is look, and you can't help but see. As Goldilocks discovered, it was the little bowl, and the little chair, and the little bed, that was "just right".

As God brings them to mind, please keep Kyle, Kelly, Audrey, and the rest of their family in your prayers. If you'd like to read more about the journey God has them on, you can click here.

Do All To His Glory...

2009-10-28T12:30:00.007-05:00

"The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God; we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and praise." ~Sibbes, Richard

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." -1 Corinthians 10:31

He knows you intricately!

2009-10-21T13:18:00.007-05:00

I love how our God is such a personal God! In today's email devotion from Joni Eareckson Tada, she wrote, "Lord, I'm grateful I'm not a What's-his-name in your eyes. I'm not a face in the crowd. You thought of me, formed me, and designed every unique, wonderful bone in my body long before the foundation of the earth."

What a wonderful thought...we are *not* what's his-names to Him! In fact, we are so intricately loved & fashioned that He says, "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6-7) Can you imagine? He knows us SO well, that He has the very hairs on our heads all numbered!

And in Psalm 139: 13-14, it says: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." You may or may not have knit anything before, but it's *very* detailed, and complex, and intricate...every purled and knitted stitch matters in creating the final design! Knitting is definitely a work of love, and that's what God has done in creating each of us. He has created us with much love, down to the very last detail.

I pray that as you go about your day, that you sense and know His great love for you...YOU whom He fashioned down to the very last detail. In fact, He loves you SO much, that: "...he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Now THAT's a show of love that tops all shows of love!!

If...

2009-10-19T17:24:00.016-05:00

"I shall act as my own if I ever make use of any of my powers to do anything that is not to the glory of God, or to fail to make the glorifying of Him my whole and entire business. If I murmur in the least at afflictions; if I am in any way uncharitable; if I revenge my own case; if I do anything purely to please myself, or omit anything because it is a great denial; if I trust to myself; if I take any praise for any good which Christ does by me; or if I am in any way proud, I shall act as my own and not God's. I purpose to be absolutely His." ~Jonathan Edwards

Makes me think of the hymn, An Evening Prayer, by C. Maude Battersby. I love this hymn...I can so well remember from my growing up years, after my mom had us tucked in bed for the evening...her playing this on the organ, singing out these words with such a precious, intentional heart for the Lord.

An Evening Prayer

If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain,
Lest I myself shall suffer through the strain,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have been perverse or hard, or cold,
If I have longed for shelter in Thy fold,
When Thou hast given me some fort to hold,
Dear Lord, forgive!

Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee;
Forgive the secret sins I do not see;
O guide me, love me and my keeper be,
Dear Lord, Amen.

A Gentle & Quiet Spirit

2009-10-06T14:20:00.006-05:00

I was working through my daily Bible study this morning, out of the book Putting on A Gentle and Quiet Spirit, by Elizabeth George. The prayer at the end of today's reading was so lovely, I just had to post it here:

"Teach me, Lord, to keep sweet and gentle in all the events of life, in disappointments, in thoughtlessness of others, in the insincerity of those I trusted, in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied.

Help me to put myself aside, to think of the happiness of others, to hide my little pains and heartaches, so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.

Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes to me. Help me to use it that it may mellow me, not harden or embitter me; that it may make me broad in my forgiveness; kindly, sympathetic, and helpful."
~~~~

May you not be discouraged when trials come your way. And may God give you grace sufficient to bear up under, always putting on a gentle & quiet spirit, which is so pleasing to Him.

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." ~Romans 5:3-5

Who Do You Fear Most?

2009-10-01T19:12:00.008-05:00

I was talking to someone earlier today, about how confusing it is to those that are lost, when the Gospel is watered down by so many around us in today's day & age. And then I open my daily email, which I get from Revive Our Hearts. In it, is said:

"We want the crown without the cross, but there’s no crown without the cross. There’s no eternal life without death to self.

If we are faithful in proclaiming that Jesus is Lord and that He is the only way to salvation and if we hold to the moral standards of God’s Word, the world will oppose us.

The only way to avoid suffering for your faith is to compromise your faith, to fear man rather than God, to water down the message, to lower our standards. I can’t help but wonder if that’s why we haven’t seen more true persecution in this country because we have so diluted the gospel message and so watered down the standards of God’s holiness that we’re not an affront to anybody."
~~~
How I love what that says! Makes me think of these verses below. May you go out each day, accepting that the crown comes with a cross.

" 18 If the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." ~John 15:18-19
~~~~
"14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." ~2 Corinthians 2:14-18

I Know Nothing As I Ought...

2009-10-01T10:31:00.001-05:00

The below is from one of my favorite books, Valley of Vision. You can find it by clicking here. You can also find the complete audio of it by clicking here.

"Self-Noughting

O Lord,
Help me to approach thee
with becoming conception of thy nature,
relations and designs.
Thou inhabitest eternity, and
my life is nothing before thee;
Thou dwellest in the highest heaven and
this cannot contain thee;
I live in a house of clay.
Thy power is almighty;
I am crushed before the moth.
Thy understanding is infinite;
I know nothing as I ought to know.
Thou canst not behold evil;
I am vile.
In my ignorance, weakness, fears, depressions,
may thy Spirit help my infirmities
with supplies of wisdom, strength and comfort.
Let me faithfully study my character,
be willing to bring it to light,
observe myself in my trials,
judge the reality and degree of my grace,
consider how I have been ensnared or overcome.
Grant that I may never trust my heart,
depend upon any past experiences,
magnify any present resolutions,
but be strong in the grace of Jesus:
that I may know how to obtain relief
from a guilty conscience
without feeling reconciled to my imperfections.
Sustain me under my trials
and improve them to me;
give me grace to rest in thee,
and assure me of deliverance.
May I always combine thy majesty
with thy mercy,
and connect thy goodness
with thy greatness.
Then shall my heart always rejoice
in praises to thee." ~Valley of Vision, p. 84

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." ~1 Corinthians 1:25

Who shall a helpless worm redeem...

2009-09-30T15:11:00.017-05:00

"In age and feebleness extreme,

Who shall a helpless worm redeem?

Jesus, my only hope Thou art,

Strength of my failing flesh and heart:

O could I catch one smile from Thee,

And drop into eternity!" ~John Wesley

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~Philippians 1:21

"15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

~2 Corinthians 4:15-20

One of my heroes of the faith...Susanna Wesley

2009-09-29T14:32:00.002-05:00

"I am content to fill a little space if God be glorified." ~ Susanna Wesley

The story of Susanna Wesley's life is incredibly amazing. She was one of the loveliest women of the faith, I believe, that ever lived. I admire her greatly. My husband & I read about her life, and couldn't put it down, it was so inspiring. The book is Susanna Wesley: Servant of God, by Sandy Dengler. You can find it by clicking here. Susanna's life was filled with incredible heartache & tragedies. If you know of someone facing severe trials, or going through the grief process, this book is made for them...her faith is a wonderful example of always leaning on the sovereignty and grace of Jesus, rejoicing in His goodness, no matter what.

"At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.' In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." Job 1:20-22

We will never walk alone...Hallelujah!

2009-09-28T16:02:00.008-05:00

I'm subscribed to Day by Day's devotional, and this came in my email today from them. May it give you encouragement to know that God has you exactly where He needs you, even if you don't understand any of His placement at all!

"We know the loneliness which the great missionary David Livingstone experienced while serving the Lord in Africa. We also remember how Martin Luther spent his time in loneliness in a fortress, where he used this time to translate the Bible into the German language. No room for bitterness, 'Lord, deliver me from this place so I can serve you better.' No, he served the Lord right where he was, despite the limitations.

And what about John Bunyan, confined to a prison for 10 years, where he wrote his famous book, The Pilgrim’s Progress?

Yes, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. From the Bible and from church history. People who lived by faith, not by sight.

At the same time we realize that sometimes we can live by sight, and not recognize God’s presence. We feel like the two men on the road to Emmaus, who thought they were walking 'alone', while Jesus walked with them.

'...Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?' (Luke 24:32).

There are numerous examples from the Scriptures and from history which tell us that a Christian will never walk the road of faith alone. Whatever the circumstances may be, even if our feelings or perception dictate the contrary, the Lord will be with us, in us and for us. Hallelujah."

"...and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." ~Matthew 28:20

Dying to Self...

2009-09-27T21:16:00.001-05:00

"If we do not die to ourselves, we cannot live to God, and he that does not live to God, is dead." ~MacDonald, George

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

2 Corinthians 5:17

I want to be the prettiness of Christ

2009-09-24T18:37:00.010-05:00

I get a newsletter every day in my email, called Proverbs 31 Ministries. I loved what today's said. Here is an excerpt from it:

"Psalm 84:1 reminds me that God's dwelling place is lovely. So, I ask God to dwell in me richly. I want Him to be what radiates about me. I want Him to be my pretty today. Not my hair. Not my outfit. Not my efforts. But simply Him and His spirit dancing invisibly about me... shifting a wrong attitude, guarding my words, and whispering constant truths into my heart." ~Proverbs 31 Ministries newsletter for 9/24/09

May you be the prettines of Christ as you go about your day.

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." 1Peter 3:3-4

Jonathan and Sarah Edwards...a synopsis of their life together

2009-09-22T19:13:00.020-05:00

Noel Piper on Jonathan and Sarah Edwards...click here to listen.

"...imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." ~Hebrews 6:12

The church family

2009-09-22T18:33:00.008-05:00

Are you helping others feel welcome in your church...do they feel they have not only a church home, but a church family, as well?

Remember to:

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." ~Galatians 6:2

“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)

Chief of sinners....

2009-09-21T16:20:00.003-05:00

Do you think you have fallen too far for God to care? Think again...the Bible says:

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." ~ 1 Timothy 1:15

“If ever Thou permittest me to declare that faithful saying, Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, surely the words, of whom I am chief, would be peculiarly expressive and convincing in my mouth. I could stand forth and propose myself instead of a thousand arguments in proof of the doctrine, and might well hope to be of singular use as a pattern of Thy longsuffering to all that should repent and believe.” ~John Newton, 4 August 1758, author of they hymn Amazing Grace; (if you haven't seen the movie, it is excellent. You can find it here.)

Is there an intellectual in your extended family, who thinks they can debate God right out of existence?

2009-09-18T15:57:00.011-05:00

If there is, as there is in my extended family, know that God is a redeemer...your loved one is never too tough for God to reach, to pierce them through to show them how very lost they are, and how very much they are in need of Jesus as their Saviour.

This is the audio about such a man, Adoniram Judson, as told by Ravi Zacharias here. There is also a book about Adoniram that is supposed to be so excellent, although my husband & I haven't read it as of yet. You can read about it here. After hearing Ravi tells Adoniram's story (albeit a much shortened version), we definitely moved this book further up on our to-be-read-soon list! :)

Never doubt God's ability to reach those that seems the most difficult to reach...those that think their intellect has it all figured out. God specializes in reaching through to such...just keep bathing your loved ones in prayer, keep sharing the Gospel, & keep letting them know how much you love them!

Enjoy the audio...it is one of the best, most encouraging stories of God's redeeming power I have ever heard. (give the audio a bit...it eventually comes to the story, but does not start right into it)

"Then Jesus said, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'" ~Mark 4:9

God's Hand is Always at Work!

2009-09-10T12:22:00.009-05:00

If you're like me, there have been some things you've encountered in life that just seem to make no sense...the burden of them seems so overwhelmingly heavy. You don't understand why God chose to do some things the way He did, but you know & trust that the Lord is good...that His ways are perfect. Many things that have caused me such great sorrow, I have seen over time, God has used wonderfully to grow me, to use for His glory alone. I read this quote this morning, in my Voice of the Martyrs' email devotional. It talks about this very thing. May it bless you as it did me:

"Vanilla, butter, sugar, flour, and cocoa headline the list of ingredients for a perfect chocolate cake. Mixing all of these ingredients together makes a sweet dessert. But if we take any one of these individual ingredients alone—like vanilla—the taste is not so sweet, but even bitter. In the same way, God is a master chef, mixing together the ingredients in our lives to make a sweet offering to him. An individual experience by itself may be bitter; yet mixed together with the whole, our lives turn out to be a divine creation. Are you experiencing a bitter trial right now? Wait to see how God will use that experience and bring other events into the mix. Trust him, wait, and see." ~VOM email devotional, Sept. 10, 2009

I wish you a lovely day in Him, resting in His goodness. May you "...taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him!" ~Psalm 34:8

They will know we are Christians by....?

2009-09-06T15:41:00.011-05:00

How *do* others know you are a Christian? Do they see Christ in you? The Bible says:
"Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:10)
Are you fulfilling that law today? Are you loving your neighbor, your family member, your co-worker, the strangers you run across while running your errands? I'm not just talking about the amiable ones that are so easy to like & love...but rather, the ones that like to get under your skin...and not only that, but take great pleasure in doing so, as well. Christ speaks specifically re: how to treat those individuals:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven...." Matthew 5:43

Joni Eareckson Tada says:
"We bear in our body the bruising and battering intended for Christ. What's more, we bear it in a godly manner. Jesus is not around in the flesh right now to do this, but we are. We are the walking billboards of his finished work. We are showing people his power is displayed, and we are telling them of his death on the cross - we take the punches on the chin from the world to show and tell that the cheek can be turned, the cross can be carried, the burden can be borne, the thorn can be accepted, the temptation can be opposed, and the wicked can be loved. People don't know the reality of what the Lord did 2,000 years ago; they only know it when they see him show up through our lives.
Lord Jesus, you received so many afflictions when you walked on earth. People misunderstood you, turned their backs on you, and abused you. It probably will happen to me, too, as I do 'show and tell.' Give me strength to walk in your shoes today. Give me courage. Be powerful through me. 'Fill up in my flesh' what is lacking!"

My prayer as we go through each new day...with each person He so purposefully sends across our paths...is that we always remember we are His light to each and everyone we encounter.
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-14) May our days find us as salt...full of much flavor...giving others reasons too numerous to number, to praise our Father in heaven!

The battle is always the Lord's....

2009-08-31T11:38:00.002-05:00

Listen to the words of one of the greatest evangelists ever:

"Envied by some, despised by many, hated by others, often blamed for things I never heard of or had nothing to do with... often sick in body as well as perplexed in mind and embarrassed by circumstances-had not the Lord been specially gracious to me, had not my mind been sustained by the conviction that the work is His and that He is with me in what it is no empty figure to call "The think of the conflict," I must have fainted or broken down. But the battles is the Lord's, and He will conquer. We may fail-do fail continually-but He never fails. Still, I need your prayers more than ever." ~ James Hudson Taylor, missionary to China & founder of the China Inland Mission

"'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.'" ~2 Chronicles 32:7-9

Are you sharing the Gospel with others?

2009-08-30T14:52:00.003-05:00

"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." ~ Charles Spurgeon

"Preach abroad. It is the cooping yourselves up in rooms that has dampened the work of God, which never was and never will be carried out to any purpose without going into the highways and hedges and compelling men and women to come in." ~ Jonathan Edwards

"Jesus Christ did not say, 'Go into the world and tell the world that it is quite right.'" ~ C.S. Lewis

"When Andrew went to find his brother, he little imagined how eminent Simon would become....You may be very deficient in talent yourself, and yet you may be the means of drawing to Christ one who shall become eminent in grace and service." ~ Charles Spurgeon

"I will not believe that thou hast tasted of the honey of the gospel if thou can eat it all to thyself." ~ Charles Spurgeon

"Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry? Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die? Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand? Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you damned?" ~ Leonard Ravenhill

"Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon Earth." ~ John Wesley

"As soon as a man has found Christ, he begins to find others." ~ Charles Spurgeon

"The world is my parish." ~ John Wesley

"There is no greater honour than to be the instrument in God's hands of leading one person out of the kingdom of Satan into the glorious light of Heaven." ~ Dwight L. Moody

"Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself, be sure of that." ~ Charles Spurgeon

"And he said unto them, 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'" ~Mark 16:15

All Things Do Work Together...

2009-07-28T18:04:00.010-05:00

"Look back, believer: Think of when you doubted God when He was so faithful to you; think of your foolish outcry of 'Not so, my Father' when He crossed His hands in affliction to give you the greater blessing; think of the many times when you have read His providences in the dark, misinterpreted His dealings, and groaned, 'All these things are against me' when they are in fact working together for your good!" ~Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening Devotional

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." ~Romans 8:28

Doubting...

Worked together for good!...

Wherein do you find your joy?

2009-07-09T12:09:00.021-05:00

"I have found such joy in simple things:
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through
a door." ~Grace Noll Crowell

"I do not know when I have had happier times in my soul, than

when I have been sitting at work, with nothing before me but a
candle and a white cloth, and hearing no sound but that of my
own breath, with God in my soul and heaven in my eye....I
rejoice in being exactly what I am--a creature capable of loving
God, and who, as long as God lives, must be happy. I get up and

look for a while out of the window and gaze at the moon and

stars, the work of an Almighty hand. I think of the grandeur of

the universe and then sit down and think myself one of the

happiest beings in it." ~a poor 18th century Methodist woman

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." ~Psalm 16:11

My Hope Is Built on...

2009-07-07T20:21:00.009-05:00

Earlier this evening, I was in the backyard while my husband was cleaning our horse's water bucket. All of a sudden the song, My Hope Is Built, started going through my head. I began singing it out loud...quite loud actually :)...singing it to the Lord whom I love. I don't know why that song popped into my head at that particular time, but earlier this evening, I'd been thinking about our grown children...thinking about things I always want them to be sure & remember. I suppose that's why the Lord laid this song upon my heart. Anyway, it's such a lovely hymn...it speaks everything I could say about my life...simply that my hope IS built on nothing less, than JESUS' blood & righteousness. I dare NOT trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in JESUS' name.

My Hope Is Built (click on the title to listen to the tune)
by Edward Mote

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain

A living, true faith....

2009-07-06T19:39:00.000-05:00

"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am'
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell." (Isaiah 58:6-12)

How Great is God to You?

2009-06-25T16:55:00.021-05:00

...[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....

2009-06-24T13:52:00.001-05:00

"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....

2009-06-20T12:13:00.003-05:00

"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....

2009-06-16T18:15:00.016-05:00

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...

2009-06-03T17:19:00.006-05:00

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

2009-06-02T17:40:00.006-05:00

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

All Our Days are a Bonus from Him....

2009-04-18T14:16:00.010-05:00

"During the time that rebels in Colombia attacked Christians and churches, the following happened: A group of Christians were meeting in their church in the hills, when all of a sudden a man came running to the church, shouting: ‘A group of killers are on their way to this church.’ For a moment fear filled the church. Should they all run away and hide? At this moment of despair a brother stood up and said: ‘Fear not, you are not in Colombia, you are in Christ.’

It had such an impact on the believers that instant calm returned to the group. Or, as another Christian leader in Latin America stated: ‘In order to be a Christian here, you have to recognize the truth, that any extra day you live will be considered a bonus.’

Yes, we have died already. Death is not awaiting us. We have experienced it already in Christ and have been raised to life eternal. The coming death of the body is therefore just a passage, a pass-through.

Let us use the bonus time we have to live for Him." (from Day by Day devotional, Open Doors ministry)

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)

Praise the Lord!

2009-04-15T15:17:00.002-05:00

(by Adrian Rogers of Love Worth Finding ministries http://www.lwf.org/site/PageServer)
"April 14 BIBLE MEDITATION:
BIBLE MEDITATION:
'Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever.' Revelation 7:12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
I heard about a man who got a little excited in church and kept shouting, 'Praise the Lord!' One day, some of the brethren called on him while he was plowing his fields. When they were finished talking, he hung his head and said, 'I know it's the truth. I have disturbed the services, but you know, I sit there and think what the Lord has done for me, how He died in agony and blood for me upon the cross, how He's forgiven all of my sins, how He's filled me with the Spirit, and - here, hold this mule while I shout! - If being a Christian and going to heaven doesn't excite you, then you have calluses on your soul. It's exciting to know the Lord Jesus Christ!

ACTION POINT:
When was the last time you raised your hands and shouted 'Praise the Lord!' Maybe right now is a good time!"

Were You There...

2009-04-10T17:59:00.008-05:00

Were You There?

I was one of them. But thank goodness..."Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life...(John 15:13)...For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."(John 3:16)

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us...."~1 John 3:16

Thank you Jesus.I was and am not worthy, but you died & rose for me.

“Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" (John 14:6) Is He your Savior?

Do Not Fear...God Is There

2009-03-24T21:25:00.003-05:00

"But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you...he who formed you...: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.'" ~Isaiah 43:1

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." ~Isaiah 41:10

Will the Circle be Ever Unbroken!

2009-03-23T13:44:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up, my daddy loved hearing me play this song on the piano, while Momma and I would sing this together. I can still hear him joining in at different times, although it's been a long memory now, since he died when I was 26. Knowing where he is, though, makes this song so dear to me. Below is a video of Waymasters singing it...their harmony is fantastic, and I love their down-home style...so much like my daddy was. Always a country boy was he...you could take him out of the country, but you could never take the country out of him. :) Let him come across someone selling fresh veggies on the corner, and you were guaranteed he'd come home with a heap of them! :) He taught me to love black-eyed peas and cornbread in milk. Therefore this song is in memory of my daddy...a man who taught me many things, but most of all he taught me to understand the Father's love, because he himself loved me so very much. Thank you Daddy...will the circle be ever unbroken!

1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." ~John 14:1-3

In the Hands of the Potter...

2009-03-22T19:32:00.000-05:00

"It is not you who shape God; it is God that shapes you. If then you are the work of God, await the hand of the Artist who does all things in due season. Offer the Potter your heart, soft and tractable, and keep the form in which the Artist has fashioned you. Let your clay be moist, lest you grow hard and lose the imprint of the Potter's fingers." ~Irenaues (200 AD)

"But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." Isaiah 64:8

Oh How Thou Lovest Me in Dark Gethsemane!

2009-03-19T15:07:00.021-05:00

"Go to dark Gethsemane, ye that feel the tempter's power; your Redeemer's conflict see; watch Him one bitter hour; turn not from His grief away; learn of Jesus Christ to pray. See Him at the judgment hall, beaten, bound, reviled, arraigned; see Him meekly bearing all! Love to man His soul sustained. Shun not suffering, shame or loss; learn of Christ to bear the cross." ~Go to Dark Gethsemane, James Montgomery (1771-1854)

"...2 He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." ~Isaiah 53:2-7

The Wonderful Grace God Gives to Those He Saves

2009-03-16T18:06:00.003-05:00

"Ah, my Brothers and Sisters, Christ's eyes look in the opposite direction to ours. We usually look for some goodness on the part of men before we help them, but He looks to their sin, degradation and need. He is kind to the unthankful and the evil. He justifies those who are not, in themselves, just -- while we were dead in trespasses and sins, 'in due time Christ died for the ungodly.' Grace, pure Grace, abounds in Him and is blessedly manifested in His mission of saving the lost." ~ Charles Spurgeon

" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' " ~Matthew 15:31

Atheist Doubts Darwinism After Listening to Kirk Cameron's Explanation Against Evolution

2009-03-15T19:59:00.002-05:00

" And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the ground after its kind: and God saw that it was good." ~Genesis 1:25

Romans 8:28 Hope!

2009-03-03T15:52:00.011-06:00

(Nick Vujicic, of Life Without Limbs, speaking in the video above, meant we are God's child, not the reverse...it's obvious from the context & his statement of faith on his website, what he meant to say.) :)

My mom, who died when I was 26 and I miss dearly to this day...her favorite verse was Romans 8:28, as referenced in this video. May this video's testimony to the power of God in all things, and Romans 8:28, give you hope...hope that no matter what you're going through, God's plan is perfect for your life!

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." ~Romans 8:28

Christ in our desolate places

2009-03-03T15:08:00.004-06:00

"'I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.'
-- Isaiah 48:10

Comfort thyself, tried believer, with this thought: God saith, 'I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.' Does not the word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? Yea, is it not an asbestos armour, against which the heat hath no power? Let affliction come-God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayst stride in at my door, but God is in the house already, and he has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayst intrude, but I have a balsam ready-God has chosen me. Whatever befalls me in this vale of tears, I know that he has "chosen" me. If, believer, thou requirest still greater comfort, remember that you have the Son of Man with you in the furnace. In that silent chamber of yours, there sitteth by your side One whom thou hast not seen, but whom thou lovest; and ofttimes when thou knowest it not, he makes all thy bed in thy affliction, and smooths thy pillow for thee. Thou art in poverty; but in that lovely house of thine the Lord of life and glory is a frequent visitor. He loves to come into these desolate places, that he may visit thee." ~excerpted from March 3, Morning & Evening, by Charles H. Spurgeon

"...and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." ~Matthew 28:20