Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart

Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart,

Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart.

In my heart, in my heart,

Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart.

Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart, in my heart,

Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart, in my heart.

In my heart, in my heart,

Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart, in my heart.

Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart, in my heart,

Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart, in my heart.

In my heart, in my heart,

Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart, in my heart.

Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart, in my heart,

Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart, in my heart.

In my heart, in my heart,

Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart, in my heart

Amer­i­can folk hymn

There is a Redeemer

There is a redeemer

Jesus God’s own Son

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah

Holy One

Jesus my redeemer

Name above all names

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah

Oh for sinners slain

Thank you Oh my Father

For giving us your Son

and leaving your spirit till

The work on earth is done

When I stand in glory

I will see His face

There I’ll serve my King forever

In that Holy place

Melody Green

God's creation expressed in flowers

In honor of Emily who always cut me bouquets.

God's faithfulness through each situation

"Even in the midst of personal agony, 
only the person who gives all 
to obey God's clear command 
experiences unspeakable joy 
and radiant expectancy (hope) 
because of unshakeable faith 
in God's character of tender love 
and utter faithfulness to His own loved child."


Taken from Bible Study Fellowship notes Feb. 2006 regarding Abraham's obedience in following God to a new land.


...with great thanks and love to Mary.

I Know Whom I Have Believed

I know not why God’s wondrous grace

To me He hath made known,

Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love

Redeemed me for His own.

I know not how this saving faith

To me He did impart,

Nor how believing in His Word

Wrought peace within my heart.

I know not how the Spirit moves,

Convincing men of sin,

Revealing Jesus through the Word,

Creating faith in Him.

I know not what of good or ill

May be reserved for me,

Of weary ways or golden days,

Before His face I see.

I know not when my Lord may come,

At night or noonday fair,

Nor if I walk the vale with Him,

Or meet Him in the air.

But “I know Whom I have believed, 

And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto Him against that day.”

Daniel W. Whittle

The Ugliness of the Fall

Yesterday our fallen world was poignantly pointed out to me through the death of a beautiful bird.  I opened the upstair curtains early in the morning and below saw a bird in the grass.  I immediately thought it could be an immature robin although I did not see movement.

With further investigation I discovered it was an adult robin, dead, with its eyes gone. Memories rushed back and a scenario came into my mind of what could have happened.  

Days earlier I had happily found a nest in our flowering crabapple tree with robins always near by.  The behavior of the adult birds was always completely still in trees near by. The day before I discovered this dead bird, I saw a crow fly onto a branch of the crabapple tree - which was odd. 

Now I was understanding because the nest had been destroyed.   The crow must have been feeding at this nest and possibly the parent robins were defending their babies to the death.

This is a picture of the great ugliness of the Fall of Adam so long ago. 

Always now... the creation groans.

Even more so...we groan.  From illnesses, accidents, crime, hatred, jealously, lies, agony, sadness ...death.  When will this be over and how can it be "right" again?  And where can we go?  And who can we seek?

Matthew 10:28-30
Do not fear those who kill the body
but are unable to kill the soul;
but rather fear Him who is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a cent?
And yet not one of them
will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Even though my scenario, or a scenario, played out concerning the robins in our yard, I can KNOW that God was very aware.  And if He is aware of such a small part of His creation falling to the ground,  He certainly knows the very number of our hairs on our heads.  He is not surprised by what happens in our lives, and He is not wringing His hands with anxiety.

The Almighty God is sovereign.  We can trust Him.

John 6:68
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life."

We have the hope which is not a fantasy hope, but a real hope in a genuine and true God.  The God of the Bible.

Romans 8:14-25
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God,
these are sons of God.

For you have not received a spirit of slavery
leading to fear again, but you have received
a spirit of adoption as sons
by which we cry out, “ Abba! Father!”

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit
that we are children of God,

and if children, heirs also, heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ,
if indeed we suffer with Him so that
we may also be glorified with Him.

For I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory
that is to be revealed to us.

For the anxious longing of the creation
waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility,
not willingly,
but because of Him who subjected it, in hope

that the creation itself also will be set free
from its slavery to corruption into the freedom
of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation
groans and suffers the pains of childbirth
together until now.

And not only this, but also we ourselves,
having the first fruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons,
the redemption of our body.

For in hope we have been saved,
but hope that is seen is not hope;
for who hopes for what he already sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see,
with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Gentle women...are you groaning with me?  Don't let the groaning over-shadow you!  Run to Him!  He is right there with you!  He is not shunning you, and your precious life has not slipped His mind.

Remember who God is and that nothing is too difficult for Him.  He is faithful and you can trust Him.  In this fallen world much can happen, and many times the LORD, in His permissive will, will allow things to continue in ways which we may view as wrong.  But He is our comfort in this fallen world.  God comforts us in our troubles, but not necessarily out of our troubles.  We have His promise of comfort.  We can surely set our hope in the One who is able to raise the dead...and yes...He will yet deliver!

2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

who comforts us in all our affliction so that
we will be able to comfort those who
are in any affliction with the comfort with which
we ourselves are comforted by God.

For just as the sufferings of Christ are
ours in abundance, so also our comfort is
abundant through Christ.

But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation;
for if we are comforted, it is for your comfort,
which is effective in the patient enduring
of the same sufferings which we also suffer;

and our hope for you is firmly grounded,
knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings,
so also you are sharers of our comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:8-14
....indeed, we had the sentence of death
within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves,
but in God who raises the dead;

who delivered us from so great a peril of death,
and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope.
And He will yet deliver us,

you also joining in helping us through your prayers,
so that thanks may be given by many persons
on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us
through the prayers of many...

Set your hope on Him and He will yet deliver us!

1 John 1

What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we have observed
and have touched with our hands,
concerning the Word of life—


that life was revealed,
and we have seen it
and we testify and declare to you
the eternal life that was with the Father
and was revealed to us—


what we have seen and heard
we also declare to you,
so that you may have
fellowship along with us;
and indeed our fellowship
is with the Father
and with His Son Jesus Christ.


We are writing these things
so that our joy may be complete.

Now this is the message
we have heard
from Him and declare to you:
God is light,
and there is absolutely
no darkness in Him.

If we say, “We have fellowship with Him,”
yet we walk in darkness,
we are lying
and are not practicing the truth.

But if we walk in the light
as He Himself is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus His Son
cleanses us from all sin.

If we say, “We have no sin,”
we are deceiving ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous
to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.

If we say, “We don’t have any sin,”
we make Him a liar,
and His word is not in us.

Let them praise Your Name!

Lord, Your name is above any other name

And forever will remain

So let the words of my mouth

And the thoughts in my heart

Let them praise your name

Lord, Your throne is above any other throne

And forever will remain

So let the young and the old

Let the high and the low

Let them praise, let them praise

Let them praise your name

Lord, Your love is above any other love

And forever will remain

So let us go with Your Word

To the ends of the earth

And let them praise, let them praise

Let them praise Your name

Twila Paris

Merle the High Flying Squirrel

With kuddos to Bill Peet...

On a recent day trip we spent some of our day stopping at a Veteran's Memorial with an AH-1S Huey Cobra helicopter on posts.  It was displayed very well in a park in the town of  Washington, Illinois. 

As we got out of our car and walked over to the display, I saw a squirrel peeking out of some kind of air intake below the rotor.  I said, "Look, it's Merle the Squirrel!"


As I spoke we saw 3 other squirrels on the  left stub-wing and then realized the 3 were babies... so the first squirrel must have been Mrs. Merle the Squirrel.

Bill Peet has been a favorite author of mine since my childhood, and then into our own children's lives.  Merle the High Flying Squirrel is one of our most favorite books of Mr. Peet's.  I highly recommend reading this charming picture book no matter what your age.

As we walked cautiously closer, all the squirrels continued what they were doing, although the mother was watching us and eventually came down to the stub-wing with the babies.

One of Merle's little babies.

Mrs. Merle comes down with the babies.


What a special day to remember.




My other favorite Bill Peet books are:  Huge Harold, The Caboose Who Got Loose, Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent, and Big Bad Bruce.  Each one is unique and wonderful.  I hope you are able to someday enjoy them yourself.

He will never give up on you & neither will I

I heard your name today.

I heard you made the old mistake again
And it hit me hard.
I really thought this time
I thought that you would somehow find a way
To meet the faith I had in you
And I confess I almost lost that faith today
But I was wrong, so wrong...

'Cause He will never give up on you
And neither will I, neither will I
Know that we still believe in you
And if you will try, if you will try again
He will never give up on you
And neither will I, neither will I, my friend.

I heard your name today.
I heard it from a wiser voice inside
And it broke my heart.
I got down on my knees
Reminded that the Father of your soul
Has been the One to care the most.
And He is there to lift you up and hold you close
His love is strong, so strong...

'Cause He will never give up on you
And neither will I, neither will I
Know that we still believe in you
And if you will try, if you will try again
He will never give up on you
And neither will I, neither will I, my friend.

Keep walking on and keep on looking straight ahead
And when you feel like turning back
Turn to Him instead

'Cause He will never give up on you
And neither will I, neither will I
Know that we still believe in you
And if you will try, if you will try again
He will never give up on you
And neither will I, neither will I, my friend.

Neither will I
by Twila Paris

The LORD God Almighty hears our cries.  Cry out to Him!

Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.


You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
You are not pleased with a burnt offering.


The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.
Psalm 51:15-17

His eye is on the Sparrow

1. Why should I feel discouraged, 
2. why should the shadows come,
   Why should my heart be lonely, 
3. and long for heav’n and home,
   When Jesus is my portion? 
4. My constant Friend is He:
   His eye is on the sparrow, 
   and I know He watches me;
   His eye is on the sparrow, 
   and I know He watches me.
   • I sing because I’m happy, 
     I sing because I’m free,
     For His eye is on the sparrow, 
     and I know He watches me.
5. “Let not your heart be troubled,” 
   His tender word I hear,
   And resting on His goodness, 
   I lose my doubts and fears;
   Though by the path He leadeth, 
   but one step I may see;
   His eye is on the sparrow, 
   and I know He watches me;
   His eye is on the sparrow, 
   and I know He watches me.
6. Whenever I am tempted, 
   whenever clouds arise,
   When songs give place to sighing, 
   when hope within me dies,
   I draw the closer to Him, 
   from care He sets me free;
   His eye is on the sparrow, 
   and I know He watches me;
   His eye is on the sparrow, 
   and I know He watches me.
   
   
   Civilla D. Martin
   
   
   Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? 
   And yet not one of them will fall to
   the ground apart from your Father. 
   But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 
   So do not fear; 
   you are more valuable than many sparrows.
   Matthew 10:29-31
   
   
   
   
   
   

Beyond the Valley

I have just read Beyond the Valley: finding hope in life's losses, by Dave Branon. 

I found it Biblically encouraging as Mr. Branon is candid with the agony he and his family have had since the earthly loss of their third daughter to a car accident in 2002.  He is able to share his true feelings and doubts, and then point us right back to the Almighty God for His great compassion and His sovereignty even in our tragedies.

Concerning the "whys" and understanding God completely, Mr. Branon says,

"But not figuring God out is a good thing because it reminds us that He is so much greater and more complicated and more nuanced than we could ever understand...

...when things go wrong...we are left with the option of simply trusting that He knows what He is doing."

Mr. Branon reminds us how the Apostle Paul expresses God as the Father of compassion and how much our hearts covet compassion.

Concerning sovereignty, he helps us understand that without God, there is only randomness, chaos.

Concerning how God sends His grace:

"Grace marks out the pathway to survival.  It is all we need.  And somehow transforms weakness into strength."

"...if we stand strong and courageous while clinging with a grip of faith to the hand of God, we can peer ahead at new tomorrows with confidence and hope.  Our future can become a land of promise."

When other people who walk with you through your valley fall away for whatever reasons, you can know that God is with you and He truly knows and understands your situation.  He is always there with His comfort.

This book is more than just a man sharing his great grief over the death of his child. Because he now knows and understands agony, he is able to relate to those of us who have lived with great loss, and can point us to the Father of compassion and strength.  Along with this he encourages us to walk with others in their pain.

"In life, joys and sorrows often intermingle, which makes the hopeful glimpses of a praise-filled future so heartening. 

Amidst the sadnesses of life, I cling to God's mercies and the sure hope of the promised future, which make it possible to live with the pain of not hearing my daughter's voice anymore on this earth."

I recommend this book to anyone who suffers from the agonies of this life, as it will point you to our great God in precious, tender ways as well as encourage you to reach out to others in pain.  May God be glorified!