Praise Him

Since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:28-29 NASB

Remember "Praise the Lord" from the Imperials? LINK

When you're up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams
And your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan's manifested schemes
And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears
Don't let the faith you're standing in seem to disappear

Praise the Lord, He can work through those who praise Him
Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise
Praise the Lord, for the chains that seems to bind you
Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you
When you praise Him

More than conquerors!

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:34, 35, 37

Have a Blessed Year in 2019

Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling,
Come, follow Me!

And we see where Thy footprints falling
Lead us to Thee.

Footprints of Jesus, that make the pathway glow;

We will follow the steps of Jesus where’er they go.
Mary Slade

Complete

When I was young, I remember my Dad stressing to me the importance of finishing a job. "Washing dishes" meant washing, drying, putting them away, cleaning the sink, table, counters, sweeping, and most importantly - refilling the ice trays. I can still hear him calling me back to the kitchen, "Karen, come finish your job!"

I can trust my Heavenly Father to finish the job He began in me. My prayer is that I will cooperate!
I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

Still Small Voice

Rest in this - it is God's business to lead, 

command, impel, send, call, 

or whatever you want to call it. 

It is your business to obey, 

follow, move, respond, or what have you. 

The sound of 'gentle stillness' 

after all the thunder and wind 

have passed 

will be the ultimate Word from God. 
Jim Elliot
1 Kings 19:12

To God Be the Glory

Great things He has taught us

Great things He has done

And great our rejoicing

Through Jesus, God's Son.

But purer and higher

And greater will be

Our wonder, our transport

When Jesus we see.

Fanny Crosby

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

Stuart Townend

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

Memories of Grandma's Kitchen

Grandma had a little tea pot like this one. My sister and I loved to fill it at the kitchen sink and water her house plants. I remember one plant that she called "mother-in-law's tongue".

Every Christmas. Grandma would make a cherry-o cream cheese pie, her favorite. In front of the adults, she would say, 'Now just give me a sliver ." But then she would come back through the kitchen where us kids were eating, and tell me, "Cut me a decent piece of that pie!"

Childhood Wishes

Popular toys I remember from the 1950's

If only I had saved those silver coins!

Please Christmas, Don't Be Late! 

Me? I wanted a Hula Hoop!
Manufactured by Wham-O in 1958, 20 million Hula Hoops sold in the first 6 months.

My parents told me to only eat two!

Toy kitchen utensils from the Five and Dime Store

Tiny Tears. Aww! She cried real tears!

A poodle skirt. Nifty-Neato!

Mother let me decorate the plastic centerpiece with gum drops.

A wonderful, wonderful toy - til it got tangled up!

Remember when you were a kid, how you wanted every toy advertised during Saturday morning cartoons? Remember thinking Christmas would never get here? May this bring back some fond memories and make you smile!

Grace and Glory

O God, behold our shield, And look upon the face of Your anointed. 

 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. 

Psalm 84:9-11

Sing Along

For lo, the days are hastening on,

By prophet bards foretold,

When with the ever circling years

Comes round the age of gold;

When peace shall over all the earth

Its ancient splendors fling,

And the whole world give back the song

Which now the angels sing.

The word 'SING' appears 121 times in the Bible.
The most recorded command in God's Word is
 'SING TO THE LORD".

The angels are singing in Heaven.
We can choose to sing along.

Imagine the day
when the whole world gives back the song
which now the angels sing.

Love Notes

Through the years, when I had great news to share or was going through difficulties, I could always call Mother, day or night. Before she hung up, she would say, "Love you, Sugar."

Lord, my prayer to You today is: Thank You that You are Love. Any time, day or night, I can open the Bible and find love notes from You tucked inside.

Long, long ago God decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessings

It has been a wonderful day. So many blessings. A heartfelt gift from my sister and brother in law, a fun shopping trip with my neighbor, and a stack of library books to enjoy during the cold days ahead.

We were talking about how the wind didn't seem so cold when we were kids out running and playing in the neighborhood, but it felt awfully good when the sun began to set and Mother would call us to come in for supper.

Many years ago in days of childhood
I used to play till evenin' shadows come
Then windin' down that old familiar pathway
I'd hear my mother call at set of sun.

Come home, come home it's suppertime
The shadows lengthen fast
Come home, come home it's suppertime
We're going home at last.

Psalm 121

I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.

The Lord himself watches over you!

Lord Most High

Thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity,
Whose name is Holy:
"I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."
Isaiah 57:15

My Favorite Things

I have sweet memories of family and friends singing around our great-aunt's pump organ. One of my favorite songs is Have You Any Room for Jesus link One of my favorite children's books at Christmas is Max Lucado's The Crippled Lamb.

A special Christmas tradition for our family was Mother quoting Luke chapter 2. She would always tell us about how she played the part of the angel in the school nativity play when she was 10 years old.

Will you share a favorite song, story or memory?

Written on our hearts

It would take a person over 31 years to count to one billion (a million millions!), counting one number per second! No wonder that it is mind-boggling to think about eternity, yet everyone does! Wise King Solomon wrote, 'God has put eternity into man's heart'.

There is an interesting name that is applied to Jehovah three times in the vision of Daniel 7: Ancient of Days. It speaks of God's eternal nature. In contrast with earthly kings, His days will never be numbered.

Daniel wrote:

I continued watching in the night visions,

and I saw One like a son of man
coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days
and was escorted before Him.

He was given authority to rule,
and glory, and a kingdom;
so that those of every people,
nation, and language
should serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that will not pass away,
and His kingdom is one
that will not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:13-14 

I love listening to Matt Gilman sing New Jerusalem
https://youtu.be/5-4R7rVaV2w

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost