God's Wonderful Works

Many, O Lord my God, 

are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;

And Your thoughts toward us

Cannot be recounted to You in order;

If I would declare and speak of them,

They are more than can be numbered.

Let all those who seek You rejoice 
and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”

Psalm 40:5,16

Grandview Baptist Church

Harry S. Truman attended this Missouri church before he was President, and was a long time member.
I attend a church nearby that is located on what was part of the Truman family farm.

Tell Me the Story of Jesus

Tell me the story of Jesus
Write on my heart every word
Tell me the story most precious
Sweetest that ever was heard
Fanny Crosby

Praying for the Persecuted Church

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength.
Isaiah 40:28-29

I am praying for those who are imprisoned for their faith in Jesus. I was reading 2 Timothy, Paul's last letter, where he writes that even though he is in prison and facing execution, the Word of God is not in chains. I pray that the Lord will encourage the hearts of men and women like Saeed Abedini. 

Suppertime

When I was growing up in Georgia, as the weather got warmer, my sister and I often sat on the screened porch playing while Mother cooked supper. It smelled so good!

Mother was an excellent cook and she made everything the old fashioned way. I can picture her cracking open the shell of a coconut, grating it, mixing the batter by hand, and working all afternoon to surprise Daddy with a fresh coconut cake. Sometimes we'd peel potatoes for her pan fries, help string beans, shell fresh peas, or cut corn off the cob.

I remember that one of Mother's favorite old hymns was, "Come Home, It's Suppertime". and we might sing it as we washed the supper dishes.

What is your favorite suppertime meal?

I am enjoying the sunshine after the rain today!

Thanking the Father

The Apostle Paul prayed: "That you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 

always thanking the Father. 

He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Colossians 1:11-14 NLT

Tucked Inside

Set your mind on things above

Where our Savior reigns in love.
Not shuffling along with head bowed low
Worried 'bout things that come and go.
Your life is safely tucked inside
The heart of Christ, where you abide.
When He is revealed, our coming King,
We'll be like Him!
To this we cling.
-Karen Rice

Set your mind on the things above, 
not on the things that are on earth. 
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 
When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, 
then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 
Colossians 3:2-4

My First Job

1967: THE REFECTORY at Georgia State University. We sold prepackaged sandwiches, snacks and drinks to the students at what was then a commuter college in downtown Atlanta near the Capitol.

My job was to pry off the soft drink bottles' metal lids and hand them to our customers. One day, I opened a Dr Pepper by mistake, and so I set the metal lid back on and put it back in the cooler. The next customer ordered a Dr. Pepper. Before I could remove the lid, he grabbed it and said, "I'm late for music class. I'll take it with me." He then shoved the bottle upside down in his pants pocket and ran.

He could have won the prize for the angriest customer of the year. Yes, it was my fault that his shiny leather penny loafers were full of the "friendly pepper upper"!

Later, I arrived early for choir rehearsal in the auditorium of the school of music, and there was that customer, up on stage singing a German aria. He had the richest baritone voice I'd ever heard. We got into a conversation that revealed that he and his wife were looking for a church and our church was looking for a minister of music. Soon Harlan and Sharon became a beloved part of our church family.

God truly can work all things together for good - even the stickiest messes!

First Day of Spring!

I saw this tree blooming in KC today.

I think this is a Hawthorn. 

I hear cardinals as the sun starts to come up every morning.

And there is a pretty little red headed woodpecker.

The Word of God

credit

Mother memorized Bible verses and chapters as a child. She could still quote them perfectly even after her memory began to fail, and she would sing all the verses to many hymns.
I still use Daddy's Bible, and it warms my heart to come across a passage he underlined, or an answer to prayer written in the margin.
What a precious Christian heritage we have in America. Missionary friends tell us how dear the gift of a Bible is to some of the refugees in the camps in the Middle East. Many are responding to the message of salvation.

A Childlike Heart

Everything in me says "Thank you!"

credit

“‘From the lips of children and infants
    you, Lord, have called forth your praise”

Matthew 21:16

Angels listen as I sing my thanks."

Psalm 138:1 Message

A song of Your faithfulness
A song of Your grace
And of Your loving kindness
To the glory of Your name
With everything that's in me, Lord
Listen to me say
I want to sing a song for You,
I want to sing a song.

Lyrics from Sing a Song (Third Day)

OUR GOD REIGNS

How beautiful upon the mountains

Are the feet of him who brings good news,

Who proclaims peace,

Who brings glad tidings of good things,

Who proclaims salvation,

Who says to Zion,

“Your God reigns!”

Isiah 52:7

Faith and Liberty

Governor Bobby Jindal, Louisiana

I watched the documentary "MONUMENTAL" again today. It affected me even more deeply than when it first came out. Kirk Cameron speaks with historians to get the truth of the founding of our nation, and how the younger generation is not being taught this truth in public schools today.

He takes us to visit the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts. I had never heard of this monument which commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims, even though it is said to be the world's largest solid granite monument.
You can read about it HERE

Contrary Winds

When we long for life without difficulties, 

remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds 

and diamonds are made under pressure.

Dr. Peter Marshall

Chaplain of United States Senate, 1947-1949

Thank God for leaders, past present and future, who honor God and His Word!

Jesus, Our Firm Foundation

When the foundations are being destroyed,

What can the righteous do?

The Lord is in His holy temple;

The Lord is on His heavenly throne.

Psalm 11:3-4

Our primary purpose in life must be to abide in Christ. 

Otherwise we can become so consumed

 with the deteriorating condition of the world 

that we fail to see 

the deteriorating condition of our own soul. 

In His love, the Lord stops us, 

and forces us to look honestly at our heart: 

Francis Frangipane

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not harm thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

John Keith

Soothing piano instrumental

Planted by the Water

credit

Most blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green.

It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 Amplified

Lord Jesus, May those who trust in You become an oasis in times of lawlessness and chaos.