"Holding On In Uncertain Times"

Holding on isn't easy.

Just recently there was a woman who had to hold onto a ride at an amusement park with one hand and her child in the other as she dangled in mid air hoping against hope for someone to save her and her child. But somehow she was able to hold on until she could safely drop her child into the arms of rescuers below and then was rescued later herself.

Times are more uncertain today than I have ever seen in my lifetime. Everyday there is more news of gas price hikes, stock markets falling, banks closing, eviction notices, utility cut-offs, etc. and people despairing all over our world.

Holding on isn't easy...especially when it seems like you have nothing left to hold onto.

As Christians, we are not to look to this world for deliverance in the day of trouble. Jesus said that troubles would come. He never promised that we would not go through difficult and despairing times, however he instructed for us to "be of good cheer" for he has overcome the world.

There have been uncertain times from the beginning, but for the people of God there has always been a way through.

No matter what it might appear like in your life today or what your emotions may be tell you. God is still "a very present help in time of need".

So...hold on! Know that God knew these times would come in our lives and He has promised to deliver us out of all of our troubles.

There is no shame in HOPE!

Rom 5:5

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

There it is! No shame!
Wow!!! Hope maketh not ashamed!
Why?
Because....the LOVE of GOD...is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us!

There are things in this world that try to quickly snatch away the hope we have just regained; especially when we struggle with certain issues in life.

But the hope that we can and do find is God is not like that which is known by the world.

This "Blessed Hope" as the Bible calls it, that is shed abroad in our hearts is the very Presence of the Savior himself ...who has taken up residence by the power of the Holy Ghost because of the LOVE of the Heavenly Father who sent His only begotten son to give hope to a world without hope.

This hope causes the Love of God in our hearts to win others to Him and therefore the love that we have received influences them to find hope; thus it becomes shed abroad through the power of the Holy Ghost which is given to us and operating out God's redemption plan through us to others..
Amazing, huh?

The God of all hope has become our hope!

Hope thou in God!

Personal Update

Wow! Just got finished with a wonderful visit from my first cousin's family. My cousin Deb, her husband David and Granddaughter Jamie spent five days in our home after driving up from the Mobile, AL area.

We enjoyed special times together, church services, singing and even a trip to the Sequoyah Museum and Old Fort Louden.

On one day Jamie and I went by ambulance to the ER after minor injuries that were the result of my cousin's car being hit in the back by a pick up truck. Jamie's back hurt and I got whiplash.

The greatest times were the times we shared praising the Lord and ministering together around the altar at our church. God came and people were responsive to Him.

They returned home on Saturday.

Since then I have been in three services. I taught Youth SS class, led the singing during morning and evening services and helped a friend preach at the radio in the afternoon.

Needless to say, I am tired and in need of some rest and relaxation. So...that is what I am going to do.

See ya soon!

The Wonder of It All!

I was just sitting here thinking when an old song invaded my memories. "The Wonder of it All!
I just sat here hearing the words sung in my mind over and over and a sense of peace flowed over my soul.
"The wonder of it all...just to think...that God loves me."
The love of God in my life has far surpassed the greatest of love's that I have ever experienced or hoped for.
People have tried to write it, sing it, perform it, and a few like me have attemted to comprehend it and share it with others...but to my knowledge...the best writers, singers, performers or others like me have not even come close to realizing just what God's love is. And as far as being able to express it? Well, I would say that our best attempts are feeble at best.
"The Wonder...of it...all....the wonder of it all....just to think.....that God loves me!"

John 3:16

LOL

Laugh out Loud!

Laughter is good like a medicine!
So, go on....and laugh! Laugh out loud, laugh long, laugh with your friends, laugh at yourself, laugh over trials, etc. But whatever you do.....LAUGH!
This world needs healing. The Bible declares that laughter is "good medicine".
We need alot of laughter!...So let's get this laughter started!

Caring Hands

Have you ever really paid attention to what your hands look like? Have you considered how valuable they are and how difficult it would be for us if we ever lost the use of them?
Notice a baby's delicate hands. Small, fragile and soft, reaching out for a finger to hold so they feel comforted. A toddler is ever using their hands to discover forbidden things . A young woman's hands might be soft and beautifully manicured while a man's might be calloused and worn; yet strong. Elderly hands might be bent and twisted, age spotted, thin skinned and weak; yet have a glory that comes by years of toil from working to provide for those they've loved. Hands come in different shapes, colors and sizes. Some with short fingers, some long. Some rough and others smooth. Some young and others old...and yet each set of hands possess a beauty and splendor all their own.
I notice hands.Tiny ones, short ones, chubby ones, long fingered ones...but each pair of hands have their own destiny. To one pair it may be a future piano recital, to another the kneading of dough for bread, another might prune flowers, while another plants vineyards, another may write poetry , while another pair may applaud the performance, another may create one of a kind pottery, and another may drive the nail for the display, another pair cradles a newborn, while the next pair embraces the unloved. One pair may wipe a fevered brow; another may administer medication, one might perform surgery, while another might prepare the last of a loved ones journey. Hands... How we chooses to use them can result in harm; while the intention of the Creator for us was to bring healing.
Caring hands were the divine plan for all mankind. First to care enough to offer up worship to a loving God and then to bestow love with them upon our fellow man.Caring hands that pray and praise, work and love, hug and embrace, hands that offer comfort and concern, compassion and hands that gently nudge others onward towards success.
Oh Lord, Let my hands be hands that are used for your intended purpose! Let them be, "caring hands" that follow the very pattern of the love you showed to us in your word. Love revealed through your caring hands on Calvary. Hands that lead us, hands that feed us, hands that hold us, hands that hide us, hands that keep us, hands that protect us, hands that wash us, hands that correct us, hands that sheild us, hands that beckon us, hands that possess us, hands that war for us, hands that save us, hands that defend us, hands that heal us, hands that anoint us, , hands that bear the burden of our personal crosses, hands that carry us across that chilly Jordan and hands that welcome us home. Caring hands!

Divine Interruptions

Yesterday, I was leading the singing with the Praise Team at our church when the presence of the Lord came. It was awesome!
The special visitation of the Holy Spirit came as a direct result of our worshipping in spirit and in truth and in so doing caused a "Divine Interruption".
Things changed from the moment the presence of the Lord began to fall.
Programs ceased, routine was squelched, our format was completely disregarded in one single "God moment".
We didn't even care! We were caught up into "the most holy place...to set in heavenly places with Christ Jesus our Lord".
Just common people gathered together in one common place to join in one common purpose and experienced a very uncommon thing....(at least in most churches today).
Praises went up....God came down! For one and one half hours we continually worshipped. There was no preaching today because the Holy Spirit had been sent to feed us "heavenly manna"...
Imagine it...we hungered, we thirsted....and we were filled!
God's manifest presence was so real that it seemed that the room glowed with the most brilliant white gold light.
As I sang in worship to Him, I lost all consciousness of what was happening around me as I freely worshipped the Lover of my Soul!
It was as if I could have easily stepped from this life into the next...not beyond, but through the vail of seperation...into His actual presence forever... and oh, what a joy it would have been if the Lord had allowed me to do it.
I resolved that if I am to pass before His return, this is the way I want to go!
Even the children got involved in praise and before the service was over, they were asking for prayer for their lost parents.
Divine Interruptions!
Just when you least expect it, when you need it the most....God sends the blessing of a Divine Interruption into your life to help you recognize that He is still there, He is very much in love with you and has a plan of action far beyond your imagination... and that everything will be alright.
He is in control!

Petals in Pain

Petals in Pain
Pain. The very thought causes one to shudder. Especially if you have experienced a significant amount or intensity of it. In our world there are so many varieties of pain...flashing like bolts of lightening in a sudden storm.Multiple jagged bolts coarsing through the sky along with intense crashing thunder causes fear within the beholder and wonder at where the next devastating strike might hit? Will it be me, my children, grandchildren, parent, friends, etc? What will the results be? Will the damage be minor or bring complete destruction? Over the course of my life I have experienced several types of pain.My first memory of physical pain was at age 5 when I fell off the front porch of our home and onto an old rusted toy truck of my brother's below. That was 45 years ago and today, I still bear three ugly scars from that fall . There have also been many other pains in my life. Death, disease, despair, divorce, abuse, betrayal, children straying, rejection, abandonment, financial loss,...and the list goes on.Your list of pain may be similar. It doesn't matter how long or short...or what might have caused deeper pain at one time than another...or whether you should be over it by now.Pain is real. It is deeply felt, affecting our lives and those around us and it takes a process of divine healing and recovery.A few weeks ago I woke and sat up in bed looking down at my left leg. I was feeling sad and clearly noticed those three scars and I drew across the pattern of them with my finger. I asked God..."Why did you allow these ugly scars to remain?" Then I wept. We don't always have the answers to life's questions, but know this...it is ok with God if we ask why. His son did!While on the cross while Jesus felt most abandoned and alone. Was it true He would have to bear inconceivable pain by the very one whom he would never have dreamed would turn his back on Him? Jesus cried out..."Father, ...why?...As I looked at my scars I thought of His. I thought about the process of healing from many things in my life. I thought about how God allows reminders of pain, Note: The Healer never concealed his own scars from the cost of the cross and neither has he hidden ours...why? So that we can see that He has been in the process of healing us all along.

The First Petal - Reflections of My Life

I was born in Danville, Illinois and shortly after attending first grade my family moved to Chenango County, NY.

My father's family lived there since the late 1930s and his longing to be with his parents won out over Mom's desires to remain near her family and homeland.

So, my parents and seven children loaded up and moved to NY.

It is there where I was raised, there where I attend school, there where I formed friendships, there where I would first experience pain, there I would marry, have children and there where I would find the greatest love of all....the Lord Jesus Christ.

My husband Gary found Him first. We attended a church at the invitation of a co-worker; where the people of that church showed love to us in a way we had never experienced before and the Pastor there lived the very heartbeat of God for lost souls. It was then that Gary, one day out of desperation and a near divorce decided on his way to work one Thursday morning to turn into the church parking lot, walk into the Pastor's office and say, "Pastor, I don't know how...but I need to get saved." The Pastor showed him where to kneel and began to pray and from that moment to this...Gary's life has never been the same.

However, I was the skeptic. I put the poor husband to the test. In my own haunting words...(which echo every time he re-tells the story)...that when he came home so excited to tell me that he had given his life to the Lord that day...I said..."I am not going to me married to no Holy Joe!"

Neither one of us had been raised in a Christian home and the only kind of "so called saints" we knew are not worthy of even a mention here.

Things took a little more time with me. My life had been hard and the love I had experienced was not the kind that God had to give. When I began to see that there was a new man in my home, who was completely delivered from drinking and was passionate for serving God...who began to love me when I was the most unloveable...then....I began to desire to know his Lord also.

Gary received a call to preach and after stating the next few haunting words , "I am never going to be a preacher's wife" (which echo every time he re-tells the story)...we headed out to try and honor the Lord with our entire lives.

Ah, we were young and often foolish in those early days, from street ministry, City Mission work, door to door evangelism, bus ministry, travelling and singing, tent revivals, home meetings, pastoring and pioneering...we have learned...that there is a fine line between youth and true spiritual maturity...and sometimes ...even now... we refer to ourselves as, "old and occasionally foolish"...lol. But in the words of our friend, "God has brought us a mighty long way!"

It has been 30 years since we found the Lord and have been on this incredible life journey. God has been faithful! He has seen us through many things and taken us many places...and all the while we have been following him, He has "loved us with and everlasting love" and has truly been El Shaddai..."the God that's enough!"