A Time of R & R

Rest & Relaxation is in order

for this Labor Day Weekend

Please take time from your busy schedule
to enjoy family and friends - and the Lord!
That's my plan...

Multi-Tasking Day

It's Multi-Tasking Day
1. Sit Down

2. Relax

3. Shut Your Eyes
4. Say a Little Prayer

5. Open Your Heart

6. Listen closely
7. Believe

Back Off Buddy!

Get behind me, satan*
I will worship the Lord, my God
and Him only will I serve

Don't ask me why I chose this picture as a visual description for the above scripture. I really don't have a clue, except it just hit me as a fit. Kinda goofy, huh? Oh well, blame it on being involved in another one of my Senior moments.

* Let's never give him the benefit of capitalizing his name. My spellcheck says I should but what does a spellcheck know.

Where Is It Going?

Many days I awake and wonder, where is life taking me? So, with pen in hand, here are my thoughts....

In the midst of dawn’s glistening light
I hear the sound of the dove
As it downs on the olive branch,
Precariously observing the movings below
Where is it going?

To new heights, soaring among the clouds
On wings of peace and contentment


The river crawls along the mountain’s edge
Rushing down into the valley’s cavity
Among the jagged rocks it sings a love song,
Happily bursting forth with sounds of praise
Where is it going?

To new horizons, tossing furiously over every obstacle
Hurriedly into the sea to become as one.


A tired, frail stranger, a mere ribbon of existence,
Standing on the shore, overlooking a vast expanse
Gazing beyond the fragility of today,
Years of struggle and pain are etched on his face
Where is this pilgrim going?

To a better place, rejoicing in the confidence
That all is well between him and his Maker.

NO MAN is an Island

Donne's* Quote: "No Man Is An Island, Entire of Itself..."

My Translation: Humans Do Not Thrive when Isolated from Others

* John Donne was a Renaissance minister and poet. This quote, in part, was from one of his sermons, and can be found in its entirety in his Meditation XVII Devotional writings.

An Eye for Beauty???

It is said that Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder - so it is important to never down another's concept of things beautiful. Why? Because what is beauty to you, may not be classified as beauty to me. But for today, let's look past "skin deep" and look into the hearts of others - for we will probably find real beauty there.

However, I think we will agree that this guy is pitiful no matter which way we look at him.

Feed My Sheep

SUNDAY
is "Feed My Sheep" Day

BEE Careful

We must BEE Very Careful
in all we say and do...


Because our speech and actions
will determine whether we get stung or not

Come, Enter with Me

There are times when my spirit desires to be lost in His wonder and glory - drawing as close as possible to Him - closing out life's whirlwind existence. What I need is to pray, to enter into my King's Palace. It's a wondrous place. Why not, come join with me this day and partake of His beauty.

Come with me into the King’s palace
Enter the gates with thanksgiving and praise
Feel His wondrous presence and majesty
Take time to stroll down its innumerable corridors
Bordered by tranquility and built on faith
His palace is a haven for the weary and heavy laden

Then let us delight in the sumptuous furnishings
Braids of silver and gold woven in elegant patterns
Exquisite tapestries gracefully hang along the walls
Their shades of blue proclaiming royalty abides
While precious jewels settle among the purples
His domain offers a vision of eternal splendor

Yes, this is a place of rest, of standing before the King
Love brushes past, making its way up the stairway
Steps designed to lift one above the cares of life
Honor and glory graciously welcome each guest
To the pageantry of this magnificent place
Come, partake in the blessings of the King’s palace.

Building Inspection Time

Could our Spiritual House be in Need of Repair?

Hip, Hip - O' (that hurts)

Be Very Careful who You Call a "Hippo"crite
because they may take offense and "sit" on you.

Places of Refreshing

My husband found an article about the Mammoth Orange Stand in Chowchilla CA, and upon reading the story, it had my head spinning back to the 1940s when I was a little girl. The 20-foot Orange Stand, as well as other similar stands, were places of wonder - each an orange-shaped stand that sold real lemonade, freshly squeezed real orange juice and orange milkshakes and freezes. (Heard a stand could easily go through 6,000 oranges a week). The crushed ice, straight from the ice houses, made the orange and lemon drinks a cool treat in the hot Central Valley weather. And, ah, there were the giant, Alaska-sized hamburgers and, should I add in our cholesterol conscious society, the yummy greasy fries. (Maybe the burgers weren’t that large, and the fries that greasy but I was just a kid so it seemed that way).

The many giant Oranges situated up and down the California highways would beckon weary, hungry folks – with each Orange strategically distanced to meet the needs of overheated cars and thirsty travelers. While we sipped iced drinks (and sometimes loading up on burgers), ice was available for auto radiators and/or car air-conditioning (that is, if you were fortunate enough to have the window mounted unit A/C – most cars didn’t. Yes, no dash mounted air at that time). With no super-fast freeways with on/off ramps, these comfort stations did a great business from the first stand (a 1926 lemon stand in Menlo Park CA - thank God, before my time) through the 1940s. In the 50s, the stands begin a decline due to the conversion from highways to freeways. Today these Giant landmarks are missing from our landscape, having given way to what we call progress. It is sad when a landmark disappears.

Giant Oranges is where I got my thought for today, and here it is....
As we travel down life's highway toward our eternal goal, God offers us special rest stops to refresh us spiritually and mentally. Each is as close as we desire it to be - we determine the distances between refreshings. You ask where are these quench thirsting places? One can be found in listening to gospel music – another by faithfully attending your local church services (and special church events), another by reading the Word, and the best refreshing spot of all, entering into your closet of prayer.

Enjoy your journey - and remember, it is up to each of us to make sure that God's landmarks never become a thing of the past!

* top pictures, the Chowchilla CA Orange Stand; bottom, Fairfield CA Stand, and unknown stand

Not My Permanent Pad

This world is not my home.....I'm just a passing through

Think PEACE

We Can Find Peace in Our Valley
if we will but take the time to look for Him

Think LOVE

Love & Care Go Hand in Hand


Have you taken the time to hold someone's hand today?

PS: I want to thank a wonderful friend who I worked with in the Bay area for emailing me this clip. She has battled cancer in many stages for a number of years, and has one of the sweetest, most loving spirits I have every known. Thank you Barbara. Love you and wish I was there to hold your hand (however, please know that you are held in my heart always).

Think KIND

Be Kindly Affectionate One to Another

Color It With Love

I've been wondering, do others see God's love in my life? Oh, how I long for my life to be such that others would desire to know Him. Here's my prayer this day....

May my life be a portrait of devotion
A picture of divine making
Using hues carefully mixed by time
Reflecting the framework of God’s mercy

May I create a design magnifying glory
Brushing in strokes of understanding
Splashes of joy and laughter
Detailing each gentle moments spent

May I paint a picture of sacred holiness
Preserving each mysterious segment
Embellishing my eternal goal on canvas
May my life Lord, be colored with your love

Just Fluffy? Don't Think So

Either I Need New Scales

Or

I Got Involved in Way Too Much Camp Meeting Fellowship

By the way, this kitty isn't all fluff. She weighs 44 lbs

Climbing Higher

Every step I dare to take,

will draw me closer to Him

Stop Bray(Brag)-ing

At one time the Lord used a Donkey to do His Will,

so we don't need to brag (bray) about our accomplishments.

If He wants others to know what we're doing for Him,

He always has ways of letting it be known.

Which Way Lord?

How Can I Ever Question the Direction that I Must Travel?

So I Ask: Lord, Please Lead Me - for You Alone Know the Way that is Best for Me

Hog Heaven

Pardon the expression but today I am in "Hog Heaven"

Now just tell me who wouldn't be after

Spending a week hearing the Word,

every morning and every evening
Spending time praising and worshipping Him in song
Spending time with old friends and making new ones

(and just think, it's Sunday, and there's more)

Awesome!

Storming the Gates
2008 UPC Camp Meeting
Santa Maria California

Create Your Own
Awesome Spirit. Awesome Preaching.
Awesome Teaching. Awesome Music.
Awesome Fellowship.
AWESOME GOD.

Faithful is Aunt Maggie

What a Whirlwind Week...

Still looking for the time to load pictures but before I leave for the campground this morning, there is one picture I would like to post. It is of my husband with his 92-yr old Aunt Maggie. Talk about a woman who has been faithful to God and His work, that's Aunt Maggie. We've been going to camp meetings since the 1970s and Aunt Maggie has always been there, worshipping and loving God. I consider her a "jewel divinely rare".

They're Coming

Pictures of Camp Meeting will be forthcoming. My daughter has been snapping for me, and as soon as they are downloaded (which hopefully will be sometime today), I will post them. It has been a wonderful camp meeting thus far. I feel so blessed to have such a special acquaintance with God and His wonderful people.

I Like - No, I Love!

This song says it all for me today.

Long ago when but a child, at old camp meeting time
How my heart would fill with joy to hear the old bells chime
Calling all the saints of God into the house of prayer
Oh such singing, praying, preaching - for the Lord was always there.

I like (love) the old time preaching, praying, shouting, singing
I like (love) the old time reading of God's Word
I like (love) to hear those old time Glory, Hallelujahs ringing
I like (love) the old time worship of the Lord.

A watercolor painting of a camp meeting circa 1839

Camp Meeting Time

It's Camp Meeting Time, and I will be in and out of Blogsville for the next few days. I wish you all were here to listen to the Word, feel His Spirit and enjoy the fellowship. Will try not to neglect my blog, and will jot down a few lines as time allows.

PS: Picture is of a Baptist camp meeting held in 1914 at Mt Lebanon. It surely lets us know that camp meetings have been around for a long time.

Refining Our Words

Words are celestial invitations

Utterances spoken upon being tried by fire
The heat melting away all imperfection
Can I withstand the fiery purging
numbered seven, in honor of redemption?
Is my desire great enough to honor the undertaking?

Why would I pen such a poem? Please realize that I am not trying to be hateful but I am so tired of hearing words and seeing emails that have no place being connected to a child of God. Certainly we are free beings with a distinct voice but I wonder, would the Lord go around saying (and sending emails) that reflect such character slamming?

Unfortunately, we live in a nation of negativity and degrading the dignity of man. It is not only in politics but is prevalent in the church - destroying the character of the ministry, its leadership, as well as the character of many of its saints. And it doesn't stop there! It runs rampant in families - pitting one member against another with loose, hurtful words.

Please don't misunderstand my post as we must enjoy the "wild" antics of others, laugh at oddities said and performed, and just enjoy chuckling about others (and ourselves) and their (our) "whacky" ways. The world would be a difficult place to live in without humor. However, we need to laugh with, not at others (if we choose to laugh at ourselves, that's up to us). Can't we just disagree (which is a God given right) without being disagreeably UGLY?

Well, with that said, I can get off my soapbox now, zap those "ugly" emails I keep receiving, and get ready for camp meeting.

Worthy, He is Worthy

He is Worthy of Our Praise

Watch It Buddy!!

When we speak, how do people see us?

Remember, our conversation speaks volumes.

Miracles

I don't look for the miracle workers.
I look for the MIRACLES.

Take time to look around
because the Miracles are many,
We just become too busy to recognize them.