"Jesus exalts what the world despises and rejects what it admires."

-Alistair Begg 9/2026  

Admitting We are Poor

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Luke 6:17-36

17-18  ..."Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. 

19  And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.

20  And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 

21  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 

22  Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 

23  Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. 

24  But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 

25  Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 

26  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

27-28  But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 

29  Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 

30  Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 

31  Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 

32  If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 

33  If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 

34  If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 

35  But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 

36  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful..."

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Admitting We Are Poor

-Alistair Begg

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Blessed are you if you trust the LORD

-on the northern Mississippi

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When the frosts are in the valley,

   And the mountaintops are gray,

And the choicest blooms are blighted,

   And the blossoms die away,

A loving Father whispers,

   "This all comes from my hand";

Blessed are you if you trust

   When you cannot understand.

If, after years of toiling,

   Your wealth should fly away

And leave your hands all empty,

   And your hair is turning gray,

Remember then your Father

   Owns all the sea and land;

Blessed are you if you trust

   When you cannot understand.

-Unknown

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Yes, from my Precious Scottish Grandmother, Milly, and from my Sweet Mary Nell.

-PLUGGERS

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Planning for the Fourth of July in the Winter

-PLUGGERS 

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What a treasure this PLUGGERS was for us!

So many, many years ago with little ones at home we made big snowmen, but also towards the end of the winter we would make a small one: 3 snowball size. 

The children would watch as I would wrap the small snowman in aluminum foil. It was difficult for them to understand in February that in July we would bring our  Summer Snowman out and enjoy him as he melted.

A few years go by with it being July 4th and our now elementary school young ones at our second home with the excitement running high-- my son asked if he could throw the almost melted snowman pieces over the roof (a Cape Cod: higher roof line so he loved that challenge :o)

Of course, he could do this! And a new tradition begins! The small snowman pieces went up to the roof and did not last very long so I thought of ice cubes. Went inside bringing out a plastic bowl full of ice cubes.

The excitement filled their faces and the throwing of melting ice cubes over the house began with this extended tradition... continuing even to a new state, new home, and by that time, teenagers. 

Blessed!

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God's Creation in our home.

This "little Bit" of a kitty grew into an enormous, lovable, sweet boy. We have had seven wonderful years with him. He has been a great blessing to us.

But today we groaned with Creation ....

Romans 8:18-25

..."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."...

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Jesus saves!

Acts 4:12

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You encircle me with Your strength

-internet Scotland

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Psalm 18

-Abridged

“I love You, Lord, my strength.”

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my savior,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.

............

In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

..............

He also brought me out into an open place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.

For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not acted wickedly against my God.

For all His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.

I was also blameless with Him,
And I kept myself from my wrongdoing.

Therefore the Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

With the faithful You show Yourself faithful;
With the blameless You prove Yourself blameless;

With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

For You save an afflicted people,
But You humiliate haughty eyes.

For You light my lamp;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.

For by You I can run at a troop of warriors;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.

As for God, His way is blameless;
The word of the Lord is refined;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God,

The God who encircles me with strength,
And makes my way blameless?

He makes my feet like deer’s feet, And sets me up on my high places.

He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your gentleness makes me great.

You enlarge my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped

..............

For You have encircled me with strength for battle;
You have forced those who rose up against me to bow down under me.

 

You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I destroyed those who hated me.

...............

You have rescued me from the contentions of the people;
You have placed me as head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.

................

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be the God of my salvation,

The God who executes vengeance for me,
And subdues peoples under me.

He rescues me from my enemies;
You indeed lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from a violent man.

Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, Lord,
And I will sing praises to Your name.

He gives great salvation to His king,
And shows faithfulness to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forever.

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The LORD Holds those Who Trust in HIm

Two months is too little

They let him go, they had no sudden healing

To think that providence would

Take a child from his mother while she prays is appalling

Who told us we'd be rescued?

What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?

We're asking why this happens to us who have died to live

It's unfair

This is what it means to be held

How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved

And to know that the promise was when everything fell

We'd be held

This hand is bitterness

We wanna taste it, let the hatred numb our sorrow

The wise hand opens slowly

To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

This is what it means to be held

How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved

And to know that the promise was when everything fell

We'd be held

If hope is born of suffering

If this is only the beginning

Can we not wait for one hour

Watching for our Savior?

This is what it means to be held

How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved

And to know that the promise was when everything fell

We'd be held

This is what it is to be loved

And to know that the promise was when everything fell

We'd be held

This is what it means to be held

-Held, written by Christa Nichole Wells

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Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord

And whose trust is the Lord.

“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,

That extends its roots by a stream

And will not fear when the heat comes;

But its leaves will be green,

And it will not be anxious in a year of drought

Nor cease to yield fruit.

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The LORD is our Bulwark!

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Psalm 48:12-13

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The LORD alone is our Refuge from Treachery and Oppression

Psalm 62

"My soul waits in silence for God only;

From Him is my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation,


My stronghold; 

I shall not be greatly shaken.

How long will you assail a man,


That you may murder him, 

all of you,


Like a leaning wall, 

like a tottering fence?

They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position;


They delight in falsehood;


They bless with their mouth,


But inwardly they curse. 

 

My soul, 

wait in silence for God only,


For my hope is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation,


My stronghold;

I shall not be shaken.

On God my salvation and my glory rest;


The rock of my strength, 

my refuge is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, O people;


Pour out your heart before Him;


God is a refuge for us.

Men of low degree are only vanity 

and men of rank are a lie;


In the balances they go up;


They are together lighter than breath.

Do not trust in oppression


And do not vainly hope in robbery;


If riches increase, 

do not set your heart upon them.

Once God has spoken;


Twice I have heard this:


That power belongs to God;

And lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord,


For You recompense a man according to his work."

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This was also my own Mother. She was a blessing to all her children and her grands.

~PLUGGERS 

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Precious Memories sent by my Mother

This card with its encouragements inside was sent to me from my mother as she was at the airport ready to leave after being with us for our first born's first week at home, Oklahoma City! Forty-six years ago!

Thankful for these Precious Times! 

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One Thousand Tongues!

 "O for a thousand tongues to sing

my great Redeemer's praise,

the glories of my God and King,

the triumphs of His grace."...

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Psalm 118: 1, 24

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting."...

..."This is the day which the Lord has made;

Let us rejoice and be glad in it."...

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Psalm 34:1, 8

"I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth."...

..."O taste and see that the Lord is good;

How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"...

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Psalm 91: 2, 14-16

..."I will say to the Lord, 

'My refuge and my fortress,

My God, in whom I trust!'...

...“Because he has loved Me, 

therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him securely on high, 

because he has known My name.

“He will call upon Me, 

and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

“With a long life I will satisfy him

And let him see My salvation.”

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Hear Him!

 ~Kinsman Co.

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..."Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,

your loosen'd tongues employ;

ye blind, behold your Savior come;

and leap, ye lame, for joy."

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Nehemiah 8:10

..."Then he said to them,

 'Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, 

and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; 

for this day is holy to our Lord.' 

Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ...

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Luke 15:3-7

..."So He [Jesus] told them this parable, saying,

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 

‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’

I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."...

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2 John 1:12

..."Though I have many things to write to you, 

I do not want to do so with paper and ink; 

but I hope to come to you and speak 

face to face, so that your joy may be 

made full."...

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1 Peter 1:3-9

..."Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 

Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has 

caused us to be born again to a living hope through 

the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable 

and undefiled and will not fade away, 

reserved in heaven for you, who are protected 

by the power of God through faith for a 

salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now 

for a little while, if necessary, you have been 

distressed by various trials, so that the proof 

of your faith, being more precious than gold 

which is perishable, even though tested by fire, 

may be found to result in praise and glory and 

honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and 

though you have not seen Him, you love 

Him, and though you do not see Him now, 

but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with 

joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining 

as the outcome of your faith the salvation 

of your souls."...

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GLORY to the LORD GOD!

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A Different Life

 ~internet photo

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I have such fond memories of my grandparents. Precious times, precious stories, sweet times of love.

It seems even those times are so far off. Simple days, slower paced, easy times to talk and share.

Since they went to be with the LORD I have thought of so many questions I should have asked them about their lives, growing up, being young adults, living in the country, and then in the big city--

I am thankful I at least had them in my life into young adulthood.

Sweet, precious times...

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My mother would be so blessed by this.

 ~internet photo

Seize the Day, Pay Attention, Do What is Important, Glorify God with Your Life!

 ~ROSE is ROSE

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As a Mother...

"When you have a child, 

you decide to have your heart 

living a lifetime 

outside your body."

~Unknown

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The Most Extraordinary Thing

Psalm 127

"Unless the Lord builds the house,


They labor in vain who build it;


Unless the Lord guards the city,


The watchman keeps awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early,


To retire late,


To eat the bread of painful labors;

For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,


The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,


So are the children of one’s youth.

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;


They will not be ashamed


When they speak with their enemies in the gate."

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A Lesson in Punctuation:

 

Having to do with the real happiness in life...

"If we want the next generation to be happy, churches need to stop being backseat "At The Movies" sermon-series peddlers, train up godly men and women, and then encourage those men and women to get married while holding them accountable to their vows..."

"That's how you build (happy) nations."

-not the bee

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Thankful for my very own Mathematician

 Genesis 2:24

..."For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. "...

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Ephesians 5:25

"...Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her"...

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