Rest and Wait Patiently in the LORD

-a friend's beautiful quilt 

*

If God says no to our prayer, dear heart,

And the clouds hang heavy and dull and gray;

If the rough rocks hinder and block the way,

While the sharp winds pierce us and sting with cold;

Yet, dear, there is home at the journey's end,

And these are the trials the Father does send

To draw us as sheep to His Heavenly fold,

If God says no to our prayers, dear heart.

-unknown

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Psalm 37:7-11

..."Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath;

Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

For evildoers will be cut off,

But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.

Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;

And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.

But the humble will inherit the land

And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity."...

*

My One Power Tool

 -internet T-shirt

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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

*

He was in the Beginning with God

meme

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John 1

..."The Light shines in the darkness"...
 *

Pumpkin Kitties!

-Meme

*
 

Sad will be the Day

-Meme

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

-PLUGGERS

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..."Why must I go about mourning?"...

-Rural Skyscraper hidden in the Woods

* 

" Why..." Psalm 42:9

"Dear Believer, can you answer the above question? 

Can you find any reason why you are so often mourning instead of rejoicing? 

Why do you allow your mind to dwell on gloomy thoughts? 

Who told you that night will never end in day?

Who told you that the winter of your discontent 

would continue from frost to frost and from snow, ice, and hail to even deeper snow and stronger storms of despair?

Don't you know that day dawns after night, showers displace drought, and spring and summer follow winter?

Then, have hope!

Hope forever, for God will not fail you!

-Charles H. Spurgeon

*

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Lord,


How majestic is Your name in all the earth,


Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!


From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,


The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;


What is man that You take thought of him,


And the son of man that You care for him?


Yet You have made him a little lower than God,


And You crown him with glory and majesty!


You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;


You have put all things under his feet,


All sheep and oxen,


And also the beasts of the field,


The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,


Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,


How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

*

Christian, you are not alone!

"When God places a burden upon you, 

He places His arms underneath you." 

-unknown

*

"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."

 -T-shirt on line

*

Ephesians 5:1-16

"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

Therefore do not be partners with them.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 

Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

11. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.

This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    

rise from the dead,
    

and Christ will shine on you.”

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."...

*

Quote from my father: "Spiders are my friends!"

-meme

*

Now remember...spiders of all kinds were created by the Lord...so respect them as you "remove" them from your house.

:o)
 

"We live by faith, not be sight."

-Beautiful Garden in N. IA.

*

When darkness veils His lovely face

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every strong and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

*-Edward Mote: My Hope is Built on Nothing Else

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

"For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.

For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."...

*

My Choicest Wreaths are Always Wet with Tears

-Rural Iowa

*
 Come with Me by yourselves and rest awhile,

   I know you're weary of the stress and throng,

Wipe from your brow the sweat and dust of toil,

   And in My quiet strength again be strong.

Come now aside from all the world holds dear,

   For fellowship the world has never known,

Alone with Me, and with My Father here,

With Me and with My Father, not alone.

Come, tell Me all that you have said and done.

   Your victories and failures, hopes, and fears.

I know how hardened hearts are wooed and won;

   My choicest wreaths are always wet with tears.

Come now and rest; the journey is too great,

   And you will faint beside the way and sink;

The Bread of Life is here for you to eat,

   And here for you the wine of love to drink.

Then from fellowship with your Lord return,

   And work till daylight softens into even:

Those brief hours are not lost in which you learn

   More of your Master and His rest in Heaven.

-unknown

*

Life is full of "Why"?

A Gem of a Jewel

* 

-meme

*

A Republic Government

"In a republic, representatives are democratically elected, but then, those who are elected are expected to exercise their governing authority according to the established rule of law. 

Yet, many representatives are under the impression that they are supposed to test the current mood of the people and represent accordingly.

This mentality reduces the republican form of government to a virtual democracy. 

*The popular opinion of the people is unstable because the mood of the mob can be easily manipulated and can change from day to day, especially in our age of instant mass communication.*

In contrast, the rule of established law is not easily changed and provides stability.

This is why the founders chose a republic instead of a democracy as the American form of Government.

-Brad Sherman, Iowa Republican candidate for Governor, “Libation #114” 7/19/25 email. 

*

Rural Sky Scraper: Grain Elevator

-midwest

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Reality in Real Life Strikes!

-non sequitur

*
 

Cleaning the bathroom...

-internet meme

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Christian Families are Best for Culture

-eastern rural Iowa 

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"Stable natural families would be, by far, the best anti-poverty, anti-crime, and pro-education program. 

Thus, Christian sexual morality is integral to social justice because it protects and promotes family formation and flourishing. 

It is not an idiosyncratic or arbitrary religious decree or practice but, instead, is rooted in human nature and ordered toward our good and the good of those around us. 

Its truth and beauty are manifest in loving and enduring relationships, grounded on oaths sworn and upheld, rather than the fickle flux of day-to-day desires. 

This commitment provides a solid foundation for an enduring intimacy between man and wife."

-Nathanael Blake

*

What is the Cure?!

-internet meme 

*

Time passes by too quickly...

 -Kinsman

*

The seasons change- seemingly too often.  Autumn has taken over the Summer we loved. 

Now the corn is being harvested with the soybeans waiting to be next. Soon the fields will be empty with room for the winds to gather more speed.

Precious friends have died- leaving loving families to grieve them. Memories of the joys and loves which they shared. Photos are brought out with their love for each other shone throughout. Tears continue until they meet again in Glory.

It feels like a story which is coming to an end. We have nearly four months to the end of this year, but time seems to "rush" by somehow.

I'm thankful for kindnesses people have shown and the words of love which are shared together.  The LORD has been gracious to love us so and then we can love others.

*

"My Home is God Himself"; Christ brought me there.

I placed myself within His mighty arms;

He took me up, and safe from all alarms

He bore me "where no foot but His has trod,"

Within the holiest at Home with God,

And had me dwell in Him, rejoicing there.

O Holy Place! O Home divinely fair!

And we, God's little ones, abiding there.

"My Home is God Himself" it was not so!

A long, long road I traveled night and day,

And sought to find within myself some way.

Nothing I did or felt could bring me near.

Self-effort failed, and I was filled with fear,

And then I found Christ was the only way,

That I must come to Him, and in Him stay,

And God had told me so.

And now "my Home is God," and sheltered there,

God meets the trials of my earthly life,

God compasses me round from storm and strife,

God takes the burden of my daily care.

O Wondrous Place! O Home divinely fair!

And I, God's little one, safe hidden there.

Lord, as I dwell in You and You in me,

So make me dead to everything but Thee;

That as I rest within my Home most fair,

My soul may evermore and only see

My God in everything and everywhere;

My Home is God.

-unknown

*

I am pruned to bear more fruit.

 -Kinsman

*

I walked a mile with Pleasure,

    She chattered all the way;

But left me none the wiser

    For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,

    And ne'er a word said she;

   But oh, the things I learned from her

    When Sorrow walked with me.

-unknown

*

John 15:1-11

Jesus says:  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."...

*

The LORD has Spoken!

"The wicked strut about on every side when vileness is exulted among the sons of men."

*

Psalm 12

"Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.


They speak falsehood to one another;
With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.


May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaks great things;


Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”


“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”

The words of the Lord are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.


You, O Lord, will keep them;
You will preserve him from this generation forever.


The wicked strut about on every side
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men."

*

I thought this was normal--So we really are PLUGGERS!

-PLUGGERS

*

A Fetus; a Human; a Person

"In some of the ancient nations, parents literally had the legal authority of life and death over their children. 

They could sell their children into slavery or even kill them! 

In ancient Rome this was codified into law and was called Patria Potestas.  

How barbaric this seems, but if the unborn child in the womb is a person, then laws that legalize abortion today are not that much different from Patria Potestas. 

Virtually the entire debate over abortion would be concluded if we answered that one question: 

"Is the fetus in the womb a person or not?" 

It is my prayer that those struggling with this question would consider what God has said about this issue in the Holy Scriptures:  

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you..."  Jeremiah 1:5"

-Brad Sherman.  Pastor, former State Legislator, and candidate to be the next governor of the State of Iowa.

*

 

Thankful for Faithful Tradesmen

-PLUGGERS

* 

The Good Old Days

-PLUGGERS

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Train up your children in the LORD

 -Kinsman

*

"Religion in a Family is at once its brightest   Ornament and its best Security."

-Samuel Adams (1780)

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Proverbs 22:6, 17-21

..."Train up a child in the way he should go,

Even when he is old he will not depart from it...

...Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,

And apply your mind to my knowledge;

For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,

That they may be ready on your lips.

So that your trust may be in the Lord,

I have taught you today, even you.

Have I not written to you excellent things

Of counsels and knowledge,

To make you know the certainty of the words of truth

That you may correctly answer him who sent you?"...

*

Fruitful in Sufferings

-2025 summer storm

*

Perhaps you are undergoing some trial as God’s child, and you are saying to Him, 

“O God, it is raining very hard on me tonight, and this test seems beyond my power to endure. Disappointments are pouring in, washing away and utterly defeating my chosen plans. My trembling heart is grieved and is cowering at the intensity of my suffering.  Surely the rains of affliction are beating down my soul.”

Dear friend, you are completely mistaken. God is not raining rain on you——He is raining blessings.  

If you will only believe your Father’s Word, you will realize that springing up beneath the pounding rain are spiritual flowers.  And they are more beautiful and fragrant than those that ever grew before in your storm-less and suffering-free life.

You can see the rain, but can you also see the flowers? 

You are suffering through these tests, but know that God sees sweet flowers of faith springing up in your life beneath these very trials. 

You try to escape the pain, yet God sees tender compassion for other sufferers finding birth in your soul. 

Your heart winces at the pain of heavy grief, but God sees the sorrow deepening and enriching your life.

No, my friend, it is not raining afflictions on you. 

It is raining tenderness, love, compassion, patience, and a thousand other flowers and fruits of the blessed Holy Spirit. And they are bringing to your life spiritual enrichment that all the prosperity and ease of this world could never produce in your innermost being.    -J.M.M.--6/15 Streams in the Desert

*

 Genesis 41:52

“God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

*

Just something silly --because life is too serious

-internet: found on a tee shirt

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Reality vs Blatantly Living in Your Sins

-Kinsman

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Question Christian:

If you believe that Jesus died for your sins, was raised from the dead so that you may have life and life more abundantly all because of what He did for you- 

--then walk in His truth not your sins!

Get your act together, 

humbly ask for forgiveness, 

make things right with people and God, then

begin to walk as Jesus would have you to live!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

..."do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, 

whom you have from God, 

and that you are not your own? 

For you have been bought with a price: 

therefore glorify God in your body!

*

Mark 1:15

...“The time is fulfilled, 

and the kingdom of God is at hand;

 repent and believe in the gospel.”...

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*follow what the gospel says!*