Sip N' Sew

Today Melanie Russell, our beautiful hostess, hosted Sip N' Sew in her home.  It was a time for us ladies to come together and spend time in fellowship.  It was a time for Christian sisters to come together in fellowship, have a cup of tea, get to know each other and work on whatever craft we brought with us whether it was knitting, crocheting, painting, quilting, writing, etc.  We had a wonderful time and Melanie plans to do this each week.  So if you find yourself with nothing to do next Thursday morning, give me a call and I'll introduce to a great bunch of Christian Sisters.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Matthew 18:20 

There Is Love

by Paul Stookey

He is now to be among you at the calling of your hearts

Rest assured this troubadour is acting on His part.

The union of your spirits, here, has caused Him to remain

For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name

There is Love.  There is Love.

Happy Birthday Grant

 

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear Grant

Happy Birthday to you!

 

Grant we are so sorry we missed your birthday.  We hope your birthday was filled with fun, laughter and lots of cake.

 

Love,

Uncle Gary & Aunt Shirley

Loved With Everlasting Love

Thou crownest the year with thy goodness.

Psalm 65:11

I am so glad that I am loved with an everlasting love.  Jesus loves me unconditionally and will always, always be there for me.  When I am struggling and the load becomes to heavy I know He will pick me up and cradle me in His loving arms.  All I have to do is put my faith and my trust in Him!

I Am His, and He Is Mine

by George W. Robinson, 1876

 

Loved with everlasting love, led by grace that love to know;

Gracious Spirit from above, Thou has taught me it is so!

O this full and perfect peace!  O this transport all divine!

In a love which cannot cease, I am His and He is mine.

 

His forever, only His; Who the Lord and me shall part?

Ah, with what a rest of bliss Christ can fill the loving heart!

Heaven and earth may fade and flee, firstborn light in gloom decline;

But with God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine.

Happy Birthday Stephen

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  1 Corinthians 1:30

 

Stephen today we are celebrating you!

When God brought you into our lives 24 years ago we knew then that you were very special.  You are a wonderful husband to our daughter and a great dad to our grand-daughter.  You are our "Son" and we thank God every day for the blessings you bring to our our lives.  We love you and wish you a year filled with the same joy you bring to others!

 

Happy Birthday Son!

 

Love,

Mom & Dad

 

We Shall Come Rejoicing

 

Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up.  Galatians 6:9

 

Life happens and sometimes we just want to crawl into a hole and let it pass us by but we can't do that.  God has work for us to do.  We are to spread the good news of His Son Jesus Christ to all we come in contact with.  So let's get out there today and sow seeds of goodness.  We might not live to see the harvest but plant those seeds!

 

Bringing In The Sheaves

by George A. Minor, 1880

 

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,

Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;

Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

 

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,

Fearing neither clouds nor winter's chilling breeze;

By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

 

 

Children of the Heavenly Father

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  Romans 8:14-15

 

When my heart is broken it is to my Heavenly Father I run for I know that He will lift me up and gather me in His arms and shelter me from whatever comes my way.  I have had my heart broken so many times during my 67 years on this earth, I wondered if I my heart would ever be whole again, if the pieces would ever be mended back together.  God's word tells me to fully put my trust in Him and have faith that everything is going to be okay.  He does not say that hurts will not come my way but that when they do He will lift me in His arms and carry me when the load is just to heavy for me to bear.

Children of the Heavenly Father

by Karolina Sandell-Berg, 1858

 

Children of the heavenly Father

Safely in His bosom gather;

Nestling bird not star in Heaven

Such a refuge ever was given.

 

God His own doth ten and nourish;

In His holy courts they flourish;

From all evil things He spares them;

In His mighty arms He bears them.

God the Help of Those Who Seek Him

 

Psalm 121

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

 

This past week has really been tough and we have been leaning on God's strength to carry us through.

 

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 4:13

 

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

 

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

 

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

 

Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

Oh, how bright the pasth grows from day to day,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Trust and Obey

 

And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 
1 John 3:22

 

Praise God that no matter whatever comes my way I am trusting Him for I know He will carry me through.

 

Trust and Obey

by John H. Sammis, 1887

 

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,

but His smile quickly drives it away;

not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,

can abide while we trust and obey.

 

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,

or we'll walk by His side in the way.

What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;

Never fear, only trust and obey.

Pressing On

 

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14

 

One of the first things we learn in Celebrate Recovery is that we must forgive and forget the things that are behind us.  If we do not do this our past hurts, habits, and hang ups will continue to control our lives.  We need to step out of our denial into truth and move forward in our relationship with Christ Jesus.  God's word tells us in John 14:6 "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

 

I don't know about you but I choose life.  I choose to press on toward the goal of eternal life with my Heavenly Father and His Son Christ Jesus.

 

He The Pearly Gates Will Open

by Fredrick A. Blom, 1917

 

Love divine, so great and wondrous,

Deep and mighty, pure, sublime!

Coming from the heart of Jesus,

Just the same through tests of time.

 

He the pearly gates will open,

So that I may enter in;

For He purchased my redemption

And forgave me all my sin.

Plans

 

"I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "

plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11

 

We all plan and save for our future but things never turn out just like we pictured they would.  Something comes along that takes a huge chuck of our savings and then we start to worry will we have enough to live on in our golden age retirement days.

 

I have come to the conclusion that I don't need to worry.  All I need to do is turn everything over to God for He tells me in His Word not to worry.  I am to walk with Him daily, live one day at a time, making the best of each and every day for His glory.  I have no control over what happened yesterday for it is already gone and tomorrow is not here yet.  I am to live today, in the present, for it is a gift from God.

 

Trust Him with all those cares and trust in Him to get you through whatever storms come your way.

 

I Need Thee Every Hour

by Annie S. Hawks, 1872

 

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;

No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

 

I need Thee, O I need Thee;

Every hour I need Thee;

O bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee.

 

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;

Temptations lose their power when Thou are nigh.

 

Draw Near to God

 

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.  James 4:8a, 10

 

This mornings worship service was awesome.  Pastor Michael's sermon topic for the next several weeks is The Pursuit of Jesus.  How we are to walk with Him daily in our communities and on mission.  When we place our faith and trust in God and actively pursue Jesus in all of our activities, His light will shine through us by the example we set to all we come in contact with.  So stay in God's Word daily, feed upon it, listen as God speaks, and you will be drawn closer to Him.

 

I Am Thine O Lord

By Fanny Crosby, 1875

 

I am Thine, O Lord,

I have heard Thy voice,

and it told Thy love to me:

But I long to rise in the arms of faith

and be closer drawn to Thee.

Problems

 

Psalm 4 

Answer me when I call to you,

my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;

have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?

Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

 Tremble and do not sin;

when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

Offer the sacrifices of the righteous

and trust in the Lord.

  Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”

Let the light of your face shine on us.

Fill my heart with joy

when their grain and new wine abound.

 In peace I will lie down and sleep,

for you alone, Lord,

make me dwell in safety.

 

We can rejoice in God's protection and peace.  We can place our confidence in God because He listens when we call on Him.  Trust God with all of your problems and He will take care of them.

Have You Ever Had The "I Wants?"

But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.

Psalm 3:3-4

 

At one time or another we have all had a case of "I wants."  We want to keep up with our neighbors, our friends, and even our family.  We want the better car, the bigger house, the awesome kids, and ladies, yes let us admit it, we want to be prettier, slimmer, younger looking, have the better clothes, etc.  The need to improve ourselves is not wrong but when we allow it to take over our lives we forget what life is about.  We forget to be thankful for the things we do have.  Take time to look around you, I mean really look, and be thankful for the home you have, the car you drive, the health you have, the beautiful children God blessed your life with and be thankful for yourself as you are a unique masterpiece created by God and there is no one like you.  Quit comparing your life and yourself to others.  Live each day in praise and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father and the feelings of inadequacy will be chased away.  We will always want things but we need to be realistic and save for the things we really need.  Ask God to meet your daily needs and He will answer you. 

 

Roots

 

Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither—

whatever they do prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

 

This was my scripture for today and as I was reading I thought this is how I want to be.  I want to be like that tree planted by the water with my roots growing deep in God's Word.  I don't want to be weak and wither and I want to plant seeds that grow into larger trees.  I want to do what God's calls me to do.

 

I have also been reading "Fruit Lovers to Go" daily devotions by Beth Reinke.  I love this little book.

This mornings devotion was "A Measure of Faith" and talked about faith; what it is and what it isn't.  Beth states, "Faith is a deep down confidence that God watches over us and that He has our best interest at heart and has a plan for our lives."  She also states "that we can use the quiet times in our faith journey for preparation - like a fruit tree during winter.  The tree appears inactive and looks half dead but deep in the ground, the roots are soaking up nutrients and water, strengthening and preparing it for further growth."

 

So let's be like a tree and during the calm, winter like times in life, allow our roots to go deeper, soaking up knowledge about God and tending to our prayer life.  When hard times strike, and the will, our stronger faith will sustain us and prepare us for further growth.

 

If life is treating you good right now, Praise God and take the opportunity to grow your roots and strengthen your faith.  If things are tough and you have hit a bump in the road, take comfort knowing that God is with you and He will help you over the bump.

 

I am the light of the world.  So if you follow Me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, for living light will flood your path.  John 8:12