Worship Him

Lord, make me appreciative of what you have given to me...
Put a song on my lips and a praise in my heart.

The hour cometh, and now is,
when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father
in spirit and in truth:
for the Father seeketh such
to worship Him.
God is a Spirit:
and they that worship Him
must worship Him
in spirit and truth.
John 4:23, 24

How's It Going?

Yo! How's life treating you?

Tranquility From Within

When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
François de la Rochefoucauld

Nature Gives Forth Beauty

Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress.
Charles Dickens

January 27th Changed My World

Normally this is not an aspect of my life that I share but feel directed to write this today. Perhaps there is someone struggling with the loss of a loved one and there need to be exercising faith - believing that the Lord can do all things - even in extreme circumstances, when most people seem to lose hope.

January 27, 1993, changed my world forever. Although I still have three wonderful children and the most precious grandchildren in the world, a piece of my heart is gone. That piece? My fourth child, a son who was full of love. His warm smile could melt a heart, and he could charm any and every one. His friends were many, his enemies few. His concern for others was sincere.Often he gave when he didn't have to give. If you'd asked for the shirt off his back, he would have given it. Too, he could be a pest...joking when being serious would have been best.I miss Mark...I miss his first words when he called, "hi, momma". I miss his hugs that squeezed the stuffing out of me; his love pats; and his arm around my neck. I miss his expressions of life and of love.

Mark fell into the pit holes of youth and on into adulthood. He struggled with his calling and identity. It was a constant struggle. However I was encouraged that the Lord would go with Mark, and that he would find his way. Wonderfully the Lord never lets us down (if we believe).

It took several years before I was able to go through his belongings. The pain of so quickly losing him was too great to do so before then. When I did, I came across handwritten notes that Mark has written. As I read the pages, I wept. They were sermons - sermons that he should have preached. No one will ever hear them as they lie wasted in the bottom of a cardboard box. What God wanted most for Mark will never be. In his writings were words about faith and trust in God. Examples carefully written on the pages. His words encouraged the use of faith. I continue to hold to the faith he wrote of, for I believe God answers a mother's prayer, and holding to that faith, I plan to see Mark one day in heaven. He did not pass from this life as some ugly gossip and rumors had it, for in his last few minutes on this earth, he and the Lord came to peace. He spent his last few minutes uttering praise to God in a heavenly language.

Now for that person that may be struggling - we do struggle from time to time with our loss. And moreover it is difficult to accept the scripture, ". . . the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away..."(Job 1:21). But even harder is its finish, ". . . blessed be the name of Lord." Bless the Lord when he takes away a vital part of our being? Taking away a life that loved unselfishly, bringing slices of excitement and joy? Yes, we need to bless Him! The Lord sometimes only gives us loved ones for a season, and He has every right to reclaim them. Dear one that struggles, may you find peace and comfort. For to have loved ones even for only a short while is better than to never have had them at all.

Mark's pride and joy from the time he turned 15 until his passing at 32 - and it still sits in our garage. Just wanted to use something different instead of a traditional picture.

Nothing but God

Sometimes we are put in a position where it is only us and God...and He is the only one that we can trust.

Weather Report

After a storm....comes a calm.

Sweep Over Me

Sweep over my soul

Sweep over my soul

Sweet Spirit...sweep over my soul.

My rest is complete

As I sit at Your feet

Sweet Spirit... sweep over my soul.

Would We Be?

If the Bible were written today, how would we be seen in its pages?








Would be found to weep before the Lord in supplication?

Would we lie and manipulate to get our way?

Would we gossip and make false statements about others?

Would we help the poor?

Would we be prone to intercessory prayer?

Would we go to conferences and church meetings to be a blessing, or to display a new dress, etc?

Would we daily study His Word, and apply it to our life?

Would we genuinely love our neighbor?

Would we be a peacemaker?

Would we covet a title or position before just wishing to please God?

Would we worry about finances, and not have trust in His keeping?

Would we forget to pray daily for loved ones that have veered from Truth?

Would we have courage in the face of defeat, as the world knows it?

Would we be found wanting more from the Master, and less from the world?

Would we be a true, born-again Christian?

Happy As A Duck In Water

Be like a duck. Calm on the surface,
but always paddling like the dickens underneath.

- quote by Michael Caine

Need An Umbrella?

Into each life some rain must fall - H.W. Longfellow

If you expect to see a rainbow, you will have to experience some rain. So why not learn to walk in the rain - it's there that you can cry without others knowing.

Puddle Jump'n Time?

When life gives you a rainy day...
find a puddle to splash in!

Just Checking

From CNN Website:

"In parks and backyards, anywhere a group gathers, the prayers of the Haitians can be heard. Last week, the call-and-response chanting and clapping that accompany those prayers pierced the darkness of night and the pre-dawn hours - sometimes as early as 4 a.m. The singing and praying was particularly intense in Champs de Mars plaza, where hundreds of people have taken refuge. But the scene was repeated throughout the city, with preachers on megaphones exhorting the faithful, who responded with lyrics like 'O Lord, keep me close to you' and 'Forgive me, Jesus.'

Many preachers are telling followers not to lose faith, that God remains with them regardless of what's happened. Most Haitians don't feel abandoned.

'The people don't blame Jesus for all these things. They have faith. They believe that Jesus saved them and are thankful for that...' "

This event has truly affected me more than any other. For as one doctor put it, "The Haitian people are resilient. They continue to crawl out of Hell with a smile."

How would we in America handle such devastation? Would it be with a smile, believing in the mercies of Jesus Christ and trusting Him completely? Would we sing, praise and pray in the streets? Is our faith that strong? When stripped of everything, would we still serve Him - or would we question and complain? (I know that I'm doing some soul searching, checking the strength of my walk with the Lord. Is my walk just "lip service" or is my walk truly a "heart experience"?)

A Committed Life

In honor of Martin Luther King Day

Giving Thanks for a Committed Life
(prayer of Reverend King)

O God, our heavenly Father, we thank thee for this golden privilege to worship thee, the only true God of the universe. We come to thee today grateful that thou hast kept us through the long night of the past and ushered us into the challenge of the present and the bright hope of the future. We are mindful, O God, that man cannot save himself, for man is not the measure of things and humanity is not God.

Bound by our chains of sin and finiteness, we know we need a savior. We thank thee, O God, for the spiritual nature of man. We are in nature but we live above nature. Help us never to let anyone or any condition pull us so low as to cause us to hate. Give us the strength to love our enemies and do good to those who despitefully use us and persecute us.

We thank thee for thy Church, founded upon the Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon thee. Then, finally, help us to realize that man was created to shine like the stars and live on through all eternity.

Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace, help us to walk together, pray together, sing together, and live together until that day when all of God's children -- Black, White, Red, and Yellow -- will rejoice in one common band of humanity in the kingdom of our Lord and of our God, we pray. Amen.

Charter Your Course

Stay the Course...Change Your World

Going to an Island

Going to shut myself off on an "island" for a few days to Focus on My Life - and listen for His Voice. Be back soon. Blessings!

Broken

Trust is like a vase.. once it's broken,
though you may be able to fix it,
the vase will never be the same again.

A "Bird" in a Gilded Cage?

Last year, I was extremely impressed with a set of scripture. It's nothing fancy or flashing - or comforting and inspiring. It carries a sobering message that definitely parallels with today's society, and today's church. Perhaps you won't see it as I do. I don't know which of us would be the wiser for that...but it jolted me enough to want to draw closer to Him every day.

I don't want to be like anyone of these people in Jeremiah 5:26-31 (NLV). I don't want to be trapped and displayed as some type of trophy. I don't want to be caught up in the material, or try to find the easiest path, hoping to just slide into Heaven.

If you are interested in reading the passage I'm stirred about, it's below for your convenience.

"Jeremiah, some of my people are evil. They hide and wait just as people hide to catch birds. They set traps for men. A hunter uses tricks to fill his cage with birds. And my people have filled their houses with a lot of goods. They have become rich and powerful. They have grown fat and heavy. There is no limit to the evil things they do. In court they do not state the case of children whose fathers have died. They do not stand up for poor people.

"Shouldn't I punish them for that?" announces the Lord. “Shouldn't I pay back the nation that does those things? Something horrible and shocking has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy lies. The priests rule by their own authority. And my people love it that way. But what will they do in the end?"

My prayer until Eternity is:
Don't let me become a "bird" in a gilded cage!!

Praising Your Way to Victory

Lord, lift me up and let me stand...
By faith on heaven's table land...
No higher plane than I have found...
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

Calling All SMART Teens

The Battle Rages

A battle goes on inside every person. It is a battle between the two wolves living inside.

One is called EVIL - it harbors anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

The other is named GOOD - reflecting joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.

Which one will win the battle? The one that we feed.

- thought taken from old Indian proverb

Makes Me Love Everybody

Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
It's good enough for me

Makes me love everybody
Makes me love everybody
Makes me love everybody
It's good enough for me

The Simple Things

Got to thinking about the Peruvian band that used to play in Union Square in front of Macy's, San Francisco. Their dress was similar to that in the video - their instruments were flutes, small hand-held drums, gourds, and usually a guitar of some kind. I know not all would love this type of music but I can remember when we first moved to the Bay area in 1992, my husband and I would spend hours in Union Square listening to their unique sounds.

Haven't been able to find any Peruvian bands on the streets of the City for years, not even at Fisherman's Wharf where three brothers used to play. For old time's sake, I'd love to sit out among the tall skyscrapers, the bustle of people walking by, the sounds of the cable car bells, feeling the crispest in the air while taking in the serenity and peacefulness of beautiful Peruvian music. True, a simple thing to desire BUT isn't that what life should be all about?

It's The Word Reading Time

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Heb 4:12

Couldn't Resist Sharing

From now on, we plan to drive by car or take a train when traveling. It would be too drafty to fly. LOL

He is Beauty

Enjoy the beauty of the Lord
all year long

happy everything