Refuge

Do I see the future

As a friend or a foe?

God reminds me He is in control.

At all times you must trust in Me.

Look around you and have eyes to see:

I am your refuge for all eternity.

Karen Rice

How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home

and the swallow a nest for herself

where she may have her young-

a place near your altar.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

Psalm 84

Never the Same

When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:17 The Living Bible

Hear Our Prayers

"For from of old no one has heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who earnestly waits for Him."
Isaiah 64:4 

Lord, Thank you that You hear our prayers, 

even when we don't know what to say.

History and Geometry

Teaching geometry to sixth graders one day, as a substitute teacher, I was deep in thought about the wording of the teacher's directions. One 12 year-old in the class, raised his hand and consoled me, "It's okay, Ma'am. They probably didn't have geometry when you were in school."

Another day, I was teaching history and we were discussing the Civil War. Being from Georgia, I was vividly describing Sherman's March to the Sea, burning down houses along the way.
"Were you at home at the time?" a girl inquired.

Does anyone else remember Sam Cooke singing, "Don't know much about geography..."?
I laughed when I listened to those lyrics again. For all the semesters I spent studying French, I have very little memory of it now...and we won't talk about algebra!

Rainy Night in Indiana

The header is a view of the Ohio River at Louisville. It is flooding this morning with streets closed on the Kentucky side and the Indiana side.

The Lord sat as King at the flood. 

Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.

The Lord will give strength to His people.

The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Psalm 29:10-11

In Memory of Billy Graham

Billy Graham, preached the gospel of Christ around the world. His longest running revival crusade was in New York City's Madison Square Garden in 1957. Crowds came for 16 weeks to hear the good news of God's love.

A Host of Golden Daffodils

 I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 

When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host, of golden daffodils; 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

William Wordsworth

No, we don't have daffodils blooming yet in southern Indiana, but I am definitely ready for some color. Our temperature will reach 80 today! That ought to hurry Spring along!

Good Work

I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.
Philippians 1:6 NLT

Surround Us

Lord,

let your constant love surround us,

for our hopes are in you alone.

Psalm 33:22

Cast all your cares

Upon the Lord

For He cares for you

And He knows what you're going through.

Why don't you

Cast all your cares

Upon the Lord.

Gary Oliver

Share His Love

The love of God
is broader than earth's vast expanse;

'Tis deeper and wider than the sea.

Love reaches out to all to bring abundant life,

For God so loved the world His only Son He gave.

Share His love
by telling what the Lord has done for you.

Share His love by sharing of your faith,

And show the world
that Jesus Christ is real to you

Every moment, every day.

William Reynolds, 1973

Wednesday is the day my son and his team have an outreach to bless homeless men in the greater NYC area. They are seeing men give their lives to the Lord and continue to come to Bible study.

No Word from God shall be void of power.

 Luke 1:37 ASV

Washed Clean by the Word

When we speak, read, sing, pray, journal, think about or share God's Word, we are being cleansed by the Word - Everytime!

Talk with each other much about the Lord, quoting psalms and hymns and singing sacred songs, making music in your hearts to the Lord. Always give thanks for everything to our God and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:19-20

There are times when I can just get overwhelmed by bad news, sad new, even fake news. I have to just get quiet before the Lord, and He begins to bring His peace...the peace that no one else can give.

Have Faith in God

B.B. McKinney wrote one of my favorite hymns, Have Faith in God, during a revival in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1934. The region was experiencing the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl drought, and times were extremely hard.

   Have faith in God when you pathway is lonely
   He sees and knows all the way you have trod
   Never alone are the least of His children
   Have faith in God, have faith in God 

   Have faith in God when you prayers are unanswered   
   Your earnest plea He will never forget
   Wait on the Lord, trust His Word and be patient
   Have faith in God, He'll answer yet

   Have faith in God in your pain and your sorrow
   His heart is touched with your grief and despair
   Cast all your cares and your burdens upon Him
   And leave them there, oh, leave them there

   Have faith in God tho' all else fail about you
   Have faith in God He provides for His own
   He cannot fail tho' all kingdoms shall perish
   He rules He reigns upon His throne 

    

Amazed

You paint the morning sky with miracles in mind.

My hope will always stand

For You hold me in Your hand

How deep, how wide,

How great is Your love for me.

Lord I'm amazed by You

How You love me

Lincoln Brewster

Look at the Birds

Our maintenance man and his wife are birdwatchers, and they recently placed two dozen birdhouses along the trail near the creek and pond. I am looking forward to spring and to seeing a variety of birds. I really hope these attract some bluebirds of happiness!

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25

Day by Day

Therefore we do not lose heart. 

Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Shatter the Darkness

When the storm rolls in,

And the clouds are gathering low,

Bless those who curse you;

They cursed Me, too, you know.

Entreat Me to pour out my kindness

For My goodness draws men to the light.

It is only My light that scatters the clouds

And shatters the blackest night.

Overcome darkness with light.

Overcome evil with love.

For the deepest longing of My heart is

More children at My table above.

-Karen Rice

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?"
Matthew 5: 44-46