I am in His hands

"My comfort in my suffering is this;

Your promise preserves my life."

 Psalms 119:50

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I'm just saying....

God's Word is our counsel.

He never leaves us or forsakes us.

Draw near to Him by reading His word.

Spring!

The Red Buds are beautiful!

I Will Sing of My Redeemer

I will sing of my Redeemer,
  And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
  From the curse to set me free.

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
  With His blood He purchased me,
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
    Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
  How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
  He the ransom freely gave.

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
  With His blood He purchased me,
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
    Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
  His triumphant pow’r I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
  Over sin, and death, and hell.

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
  With His blood He purchased me,
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
    Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
  And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
  Son of God with Him to be.

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
  With His blood He purchased me,
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
    Paid the debt, and made me free.

Phillip Bliss

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Praising the LORD! 

He paid my debt and set me free!  

I am free indeed!  

Glory to His Name!

Wild Flowers

MUTTS

My Garden Is A Pleasant Place

My garden is a pleasant place

Of sun glory and leaf grace.

There is an ancient cherry tree

Where yellow warblers sing to me,

And an old grape arbor, where

A robin builds her nest, and there

Above the lima beans and peas

She croons her little melodies,

Her blue eggs hidden in the green

Fastness of that leafy screen.

Here are striped zinnias that bees

Fly far to visit; and sweet peas,

Like little butterflies newborn, 

And over by the tasseled corn

Are sunflowers and hollyhocks,

And pink and yellow four-o’clocks.

Here are hummingbirds that come

To seek the tall delphinium—

Songless bird and scentless flow

Communing in a golden hour.

There is no blue like the blue cup

The tall delphinium hold up,

Not sky, nor distant hill, nor sea,

Sapphire, nor lapis lazuli.

My lilac trees are old and tall;

I cannot reach their bloom at ll.

They send their perfume over trees

And roofs and streets, to find the bees.

I wish some power would touch my ear

With magic touch, and make me hear

What all the blossoms say, and so

I might know what the winged things know.

I’d hear the sunflower’s mellow pipe,

“Goldfinch, goldfinch, my seeds are ripe!”

I’d hear the pale wistaria sing,

“Moon moth, moon moth, I’m blossoming!”

I’d hear the evening primrose cry,

“Oh, firefly! come, firefly!”

And I would learn the jeweled word

The ruby-throated hummingbird

Drops into cups of larkspur blue,

And I would sing them all for you!

My garden is a pleasant place

Of moon glory and wind grace.

O friend, wherever you may be,

Will you not come to visit me?

Over fields and streams and hills,

I’ll pipe like yellow daffodils, 

And every little wind that blows

Shall take my message as it goes.

A heart may travel very far

To come where its desires are,

Oh, may some power touch my ear,

And grant me grace, and make you hear!

Louise Driscoll

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Praises to my God and King!

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Day to day pours forth speech,

And night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words;

Their voice is not heard.

Their line has gone out through all the earth,

And their utterances to the end of the world.

In them He has placed a tent for the sun,

Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;

It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

Its rising is from one end of the heavens,

And its circuit to the other end of them;

And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;

In keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.

Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;

Let them not rule over me;

Then I will be blameless,

And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19

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Spring and renewal!

I’m sad and sorry, but it isn't about us.

I am sad, and I am sorry - for myself, but also for you - whoever you are who are suffering in sorrows and agonies.  

The world doesn’t care, or at least it barely does, and even the church forgets about our pain as life goes on.

In some of our circumstances the pain never stops, perhaps only going deeper within us.  Other sorrows do tend to wane as life marches on, but the pain is there.

In my own agonies I have had certain people become so upset FOR me to where they discount their own sadnesses.  But I understand sadness and pain, and I would never discount anyone’s sorrows. 

Pain is pain.  

Compassion is a balm for it.

Because I know agonies, I know I can certainly make it all about “me”, and sometimes it surely seems like it is all about me.

But it isn't all about me.

The LORD God Almighty is my God, and soon enough I remember who He is! and who I am in Him. Thankfully, I realize this truth and seek His face.  This is when “I” become less of what it is all about, and then eventually I can see it rightly.  Yes, I am in pain, but the LORD carries me and He is working.  

It isn't about me, it is all about glorifying the LORD in my agonies. 

God is working in me, for sure! because I am allowing Him to do so. God is also working in the people who are causing all the sorrows and sadness, and it is their choice to listen to Him. 

Sometimes our sorrows are not caused by others, but are just part of our fallen world.  There is "no one" else for the LORD to work in to change their direction away from sin.  Perhaps our desire is to marry or have children and these desires go unfulfilled.  These are real feelings of loss and sadness. 

You are justified to feel sad, but don't let your agonies define you.

Even so, the LORD can be with you when you are His child.  When you are His, He will never leave you or forsake you.  You are never alone ever again.  No matter what happens in your life He is with you and you can count on Him.

When our pain and sorrows overwhelm us, let us each choose to seek His face.  He counts every tear, He holds us in His hands, He loves us more than we can imagine.  

We need to get into His Word more, fill ourselves up with it.  We need to preach to ourselves who God is and who we are in Him.  We need to remind ourselves that this life is not all about us, but about living our lives to glorify His Name. 

It is about our merciful almighty God.  

Praises to His Name!

Psalm 34
"I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.

O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.

They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.

O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
O fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.

The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.

Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.

Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Live like you truly trust the LORD

Our calling to lead

Happy Mother's Day

There is no rock like our God!

Sisters, wives, mothers, daughters....Allow the LORD God of the Bible to be your God.  Search out and know that His Son was your sacrifice for your sins. Find your safety in Jesus. 

What are your agonies?  What are your troubles?  He is the only One who can truly help us in our sorrows. Cry out to Him in honest, sincerity and He will hear you.

When you are His child and you are at your wit's end, He will comfort you in your chaos.
  
When you are trusting in Him to do His work in your situations, even if your circumstances do not change,  it will be the LORD God who works in you, drawing you closer to Himself, and you will have His peace among your greatest agonies.

There are no gods like Him. Whatever "rock" is your god, throw it away because there is no rock like our God. 

“My heart exults in the Lord;
My horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

“There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, there is no one besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.

“Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.

“The bows of the mighty are shattered,
But the feeble gird on strength.
“Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to hunger.

Even the barren gives birth to seven,
But she who has many children languishes.

“The Lord kills and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

“The Lord makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.

“He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the world on them.

“He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
For not by might shall a man prevail.

“Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

-Hannah, 1Samuel 2:1-10

God's Creation is incredible

Lilies of the Valley with dews drops.

This is not my photo of my own Lilies of the Valley, but how incredible!  

Mine are beginning to bloom.  They are a beautiful, unique, fragrant, part of His creation for us.  Praises to the LORD!

Snoopy can hear a chocolate chip cookie call his name

Learning to Abide in the LORD

"As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
1 John 2:24

Abide is an old-fashioned word.  I’d never used it in everyday conversation and didn't understand its meaning until I had the opportunity to pet-sit for a friend.

“I’m going to change your name to Shadow,” I said with exasperation as Cinderella, the miniature Boston terrier, trotted behind me.  While I washed dishes she sat on the kitchen rug.  As I ate lunch, she jumped onto a chair.  When I sat on the couch, she scooted as near to me as possible.  Pressed close against my leg, she looked up at me with her puppy-dog eyes and rested her head on my thigh.

Maybe this was standard behavior for a small, indoor dog, or was Cinderella just missing her master?  It was a good  thing she was cute.  Otherwise, I might not have put up with her constant craving for togetherness. 

But her dependence continued after that first day.  When I walked to the mailbox, she happily followed at my heels.  If I went into the bathroom, she patiently waited outside the door.  At night, she crawled onto the bed and curled up at my feet.  She never whined when I walked away or when I pushed her aside to make some space between us.

The day before her owner returned, I was reading.  Cinderella jumped into my lap and then climbed onto the arm of the chair. Pretending to ignore her, I watched as she gingerly put her front paws on my shoulder and leaned her head close to my neck.  She rested her face against my cheek, sighed contentedly, and closed her eyes.  

All she wanted was to abide with me. 

 I didn’t understand her devotion, but the word abide became crystal clear.

Lord, like a dog yearns to be close to her master (or temporary master), help me to abide in You.

—-Stephanie Thompson

Devotional unknown

Spring has Sprung

Finding a comfort in Him and His creation as it is renewed.

Second Day of May Dance

Find Joy in the LORD.  

Even when you can seemingly not have joy because of your circumstances, you can find His joy and rest in Him.

Praising the LORD!