It's A Puzzle To Me

These are not very good pictures--the lighting was all wrong--BUT we loved the effect that the puzzle boxes made when placed together in a collage.

 I used 3M Command velcro stickers and several old boxes of Christmas puzzles we had worked through the years and stuck them to the wall.

 I had a picture there that was not wintery or Christmasy at all--so this served the purpose to fill up a great big hole on the wall and also to bring back many fun memories--

Someone always hides the very last piece and drags it out so they can get to place "the last piece of the puzzle."

It came down easily after Christmas with no damage whatsoever to the walls--I absolutely love the 3M Command stickers.  They cost a few dollars but that was the extent of the money I spent for a big decoration.

Hope this gets your mind going to give you ideas for inexpensive decorations.

Aren't you glad that nothing puzzles our Father--He knows all, has all the answers and is always working to bring them to pass in our lives. Isaiah 55:8-11 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  NIV (bolding mine)

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

'Tis the Season

My husband came home from the store a couple of days ago with two huge pots of beautiful, red poinsettias--a good way to start the Christmas season.

I pray that wherever you are and in whatever position you find yourself, that you will find a way to celebrate the birth of our dear Savior.

It doesn't take lots of money to make Christmas really special.  Sometimes we get caught up in all the hustle, bustle, shopping, and decorating and miss the precious moments just being together and taking time to celebrate not only our love for Christ but our love for each other.

I'm going to try to take the next few weeks to give you some ideas of things to do that don't cost much but makes this season truly meaningful.

So I will start with this one--fill a mason jar or any appropriate container with tailored love knots for someone you love--a coupon for a back rub, a ticket that exempts a child from a certain chore for the day--you get the drift--just tailor it to suit each individual person.  I bet you come up with some really good ones.

When our sons were growing up there was a certain chore that I did for them every day for the month of December--I can still remember how good it made me feel each day as I sacrificed my time to invest a mother's heart and love in them.

I would love to hear your ideas also.

Start the season off right--no stress!  Choose to cast all your care on Him for He cares for you.

Christmas blessings,
Dianne

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

All Came Home

All of our precious guys returned safely "home" to Renewal Ranch last night.  God truly is with us.

 If you joined us in prayer for them as they celebrated Thanksgiving with their families and friends, I want to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Our hearts were made glad as we welcomed all of them back and had a wonderful night of reunion and decorating the bunkhouse.

We also have added two new guys--David and Shawn--I ask for your prayers for them.

Watching God work at RR is an almost daily breathtaking adventure--we get to see miracle after miracle as God is saving these men from a life of despair, desperation and destruction.

If your life today is in the throes of despair and desperation, I pray that you will turn simply to Jesus with a sincere heart and ask Him to help you.  It amazes me just how much God is anxiously waiting for us to turn to Him so that He can help us.

Come to Him simply but sincerely--fix your eyes on Jesus and commit to serving Him with your whole heart and life--God does not play games--He knows our deepest motives and He will not "be used."  Your life will never be the same again when you daily commit it to Him.

Follow your commitment with daily prayer and Bible study--find some other believers who will support you in your endeavor to walk daily with God--I understand that this can be quite challenging for my foreign readers who live in countries where you cannot openly worship Jesus Christ.

But God is faithful--ask Him to lead you to other TRUE believers in the ONE, TRUE God and He will help you.  He is faithful!

Sharing God's love,
Dianne

Thanksgiving at Petit Jean

Larry and I spent a beautiful Thanksgiving Day at Mather Lodge on Petit Jean mountain--It is one of Arkansas' state parks and it is lovely.

 The weather was absolutely perfect as long as you were in the sun--Just a tad bit chilly in the shade. We went with our good friends, Bob and Joyce--our kids and theirs were celebrating with "the other side of the family" this year so we celebrated together with no shopping, no cooking, no cleaning up--it was really wonderful--the food was awesome-- I ate too much cornbread dressing--that is one of my favorite foods in the whole world.

Hope your day was blessed--I love you all.
Dianne

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Make His Faithfulness Known!

You see a lot of this at the Ranch. One generation visiting with another--something you don't see much of out in "regular" society. I see this verse lived out every Saturday at the Ranch and it makes my heart sing.

With my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. from the Psalms

On this holiday of Thanksgiving when several generations are usually together, I encourage you to tell of His faithfulness, talk of all His wondrous provision, give thanks to the God of all gods.

photograph by Josh Kear--thank you, Josh--hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving--
© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

A Thanksgiving Prayer

 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
       throughout all generations.

 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world,from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. 

You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.

 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
       you founded the world and all that is in it.

I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.

 I will declare that your love stands firm forever, 

       that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself--

.

 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
       establish the work of our hands for us—
       yes, establish the work of our hands.

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

a repost from past pages
portions of Psalm 86, 89, 90 NIV

God's Positioning System

Global Positioning System--The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based satellite navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.  (borrowed from Wikipedia)

I heard a speaker recently who made a statement similar to the following:

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had directions from God that would tell us exactly which turn to make next sorta like a GPS system?"

While I think I understand the point he was trying to make, my thinking is that God's Positioning System really leaves nothing to the imagination, clearly and concisely gives us every direction we need to make it safely to our destination with no detours.

We do need an unobstructed line of sight to the Godhead three in One--God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit--  His positioning system is maintained by a government shouldered by Jesus Christ and is freely accessible to anyone with a Holy Spirit receiver--open ears, open heart and a willingness to obey. Proverbs 3:5-6 says:  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 4:27:  Do not turn to the right nor to the left;  Turn your foot from evil. I pray today that all of us choose His way, not turning to the right nor to the left, keeping our feet and our hearts from evil, desiring to follow His path and His alone.  Then and only then will the blood-bought artery be clear to us.  The way of the cross leads home.

Hope your Thanksgiving week is wonderfully blessed,
Dianne

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

An Evening Sacrifice

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling- 1 Timothy 2:8 ESV  So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:4 ESV  Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! Psalm 141:2 ESV  Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord! Psalm 141:2 ESV  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  I had a knee replacement last year and I cannot get down on my knees to pray any more.  If you can, I pray that you will bow down and worship before Him today.  If you can't, I pray that you will lift your hands to God.  If you can't lift your hands, then consider lifting your voice-- If you can't lift your voice, I pray that you will lift your heart--  that is what God really desires from us--our hearts.  Oh God, show me how today to lift my heart totally to you--to hold no reservations, no places that I am not willing to expose fully to you.  I love you, Lord.  Thank you for this small space here on the world wide web and I pray that this simple devotional will bless people all over this great planet.  Give health, healing, hope and salvation to all my readers, I pray in Jesus' Name.  Amen

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Photography by Josh Kear-
Cooper praising God

The Shadow of Your Smile!

A smile is a passport into another's heart-- Here ya go--you have full access--always loving and thinking and praying for my precious readers and friends--I am on my way to the Ranch--please pray for our class--we are studying today about the importance of obedience and holiness in relation to prayer.  Hope the shadow of your smile brings a little radiance into someone's heart today.

Would you like to share your thoughts or your heart with me? My contact information is listed in the upper right of the sidebar. Please feel free to email me. I love hearing from you and cherish the friendships I have made through blogging. © all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Come Away With Him

This picture just makes me want to take a day out of my life--put the coffee pot on and study, study, study.  I read my Bible every day and I try to really meditate and absorb what I read but like I say, this picture just makes me want to spend quality and quantity time in God's Word.

One thing I love about studying in these high tech days, is how fast it is to search a certain passage and find out things that used to take hours to research.

The picture is of Steven, one of our Renewal Ranch guys--the guys are immersed in Bible study all day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

They do service projects on Thursday and Friday and go to church on Saturday and Sunday with Bible Study Fellowship on Monday nights--sometimes they also have Wednesday night services.

I tell them how blessed they are to have this time set apart to study God's Word--

I hope this encourages you to "Come away with Him" at some point in your day--
There is no better use of your time!

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show yourself approved, a workman who needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This photo was taken by Josh Kear--thank you, Josh, for your generosity--

 © all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Train Up A Child

Proverbs 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not leave it.

This beautiful lady's name is Montine.  She is the mother of one of our residents at Renewal Ranch.  I love this picture of her as she sits in chapel on Saturday morning and rests in the promises of God that she has depended upon for years.

You see, her son has just had his life restored after twenty five years of addiction.  In class last Wednesday I wish you could have heard his humble testimony as he gave all the credit to the prayers of his faithful, loving mother.

My friend, if you have a wayward child, a prodigal son or daughter, do not be discouraged, but be encouraged knowing the God of the ages will hear your prayer just as he heard Montine's.

Have a wonderful week.  I love you.
Dianne

Photography by Josh Kear--thank you, dear Josh--
 © all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Majesty-Worship His Majesty

Here is a new canvas I have started--have NO clue where it will end up--but thought you might want to see the progression of it--I am liking it so far--I think I will probably throw some black paint on it and then place some more formal calligraphy in places here and there.  Oh, how I love to experiment!

I was using a Masquepen for the first time and this is a tall canvas--you can tell that my handwriting changed in the middle of it SO I will have to do something to detract from that feature.

Unto Jesus be all honor, glory and praise!

It will be a few days before I have a chance to work on it again but I will try to remember to keep you posted on its progression.

In the meantime, have an awesome weekend and may His Kingdom Come!

Loving You,
Dianne

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

For the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth!

I was at the First United Methodist Church in Fayetteville, AR recently and saw this incredibly large (at least 5x10') painting of the cross.

 I LOVE everything about this--all the variations of colors, the sense of movement indicating (to me) its far-reaching effects, the geometric shapes symbolizing (to me) its jewel like facets--the body of water and horizon to the left lets one catch a glimpse of eternity.

Seeing this girl in the picture gives a sense of just how large it really is--

And it reminds me just how large our God really is.

Depending on Him and worshiping at His feet today.

Hope your day is extremely blessed.

I love you all,
Dianne


 © all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Overwhelmed By His Love

We traveled for 2.5 hours to the north Arkansas town of Melbourne. There is a town close by by the name of Sydney. Really makes you wonder. I need to do some research on that.

 One of our residents, Chase,  is from Melbourne. We were going to visit his home church. He was supposed to speak and was a little nervous. Sometimes it is harder for the guys to speak in front of all those who know them than to strangers.

We finally arrived but I forgot to take a picture of the outside of his church.

One of our residents, Lee, and I visiting before service began.

Ryan preparing to minister through song to the congregation of Bellview Baptist Church.

This is Cooper, one of our newer residents giving his testimony.  He is from Batesville which is about 45 minutes away.  His mom and step dad came so we got to sit and visit with them at lunch.  He quoted Psalm 40--take a look at it--it is not a short chapter.

This is Chase.  He gave his testimony and then quoted 20 or 30 verses--I didn't count but it was a lot.  Both his mom and I cried all the way through them I think.  It was great to see Chase's family--mother, father, grandparents, aunt, sister and brother.  Forgive me if I left anyone out.

This is my granddaughter, Kailey and her husband of almost two months--Josh.  Josh graduated from the Ranch last February.  Kailey met him there.  Josh gave his testimony at the Izard County Detention Center where we went for a service after the church service and lunch.

Finally, after two glorious services and a great lunch, we start home.

Of course, it's not very long before break time.  This is Michael--he's getting close to graduation--

Billy Ray--oh my, I love these guys--

Josh--our resident photographer--and Trevor, our resident rapper.  Yes, he rapped at the service and it was great!

Sweet Loy!--our oldest resident--

And Paul--He is an assistant bunkhouse leader and is doing a great job!

Here's Chase and Dustin behind him.  Chase is an awesome basketball player and Dustin can make a guitar talk.  These guys are so talented it will blow your mind.

The other van full of guys parked on the other side of the store so I didn't get pics of them.

And our newest residents, Tanner and Jordan--welcome to Renewal Ranch guys--we love you already!

Hope you enjoyed tagging along on our trip.  

Overwhelmed by His love,

Dianne

By the way, the trees were about a week past their peek--but still so pretty--Chase's grandmother has lived there for 39 years and she said it was the prettiest fall they had ever had--too bad we missed it by a week!

Would you like to share your thoughts or your heart with me? My contact information is listed in the upper right of the sidebar. Please feel free to email me. I love hearing from you and cherish the friendships I have made through blogging.

 © all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Pictures 8, 9, 12, 19, 20 by Josh

A Thousand Hills

This is a picture I took yesterday on a little trip we took.  Tomorrow I will tell you where we went and more about it.  Hope your Monday is extremely blessed.

Love you,
Dianne

Would you like to share your thoughts or your heart with me? My contact information is listed in the upper right of the sidebar. Please feel free to email me. I love hearing from you and cherish the friendships I have made through blogging. 

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Is Your Faith Showing?

Yesterday I posted some pictures taken from my class at Renewal Ranch.  Today I wanted to share with you a little of what we talked about and learned.

I visited a local church's library on Monday looking for suitable material to aid in the teaching of our residents.

I came across a a book and dvd study called When God's People Pray by Jim Cymbala.  Jim is pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York.  He has been pastor there for about 30 years.  Under his pastorate they have grown from under 30 members to 16,000.

They have a Tuesday night prayer meeting every week that is the lifeblood of their church.  Pastor Cymbala states that he would rather be at that service than any of the others throughout the week.

'Our God loves us deeply and longs to be in a relationship in which we receive the spiritual and physical blessings he wants to give us. We, as individuals and as churches, suffer great loss when we fail to ask God for these blessings.  These blessings can change our lives, invigorate our churches, transform our communities, and even alter the course of history! Best of all, they are available to every believer and every church if we will only pray for them in faith and obedience."  Jim Cymbala

God says that His house shall be called a house of prayer--not of preaching, not of singing, but a house of prayer.  Sometimes I wonder if we as Christians are making sure that His house is a house of prayer.

Also, Pastor Cymbala reminded me that the disciples asked, "Teach us to pray, Lord."  They didn't ask for him to teach them how to preach or how to minister but how to pray.

The main teachings for this first lesson were:

• God is rich in mercy to all who call on Him
• Prayer is the evidence of true faith
• God answers prayer
• Life's problems remind us to call on God
• No place to go but God
• 
  

I especially loved the second one--Prayer is the evidence of true faith and where you find faith, you find praying people.

That really convicted me because I admit, I have grown lax in my praying for my country thinking that we have sunk as low as we can go, that nothing can stop the headlong spiraling into the deepest recesses of sin--

But that is what satan wants me to believe--he not only wants to lead us into sin but he visits the sins of hopelessness and despair upon Christians so that we won't pray and thereby move the hand of God.

Take a look at the last one--No place to go but God--how many times have you heard a Christian brother or sister lament in a sad dejected tone that "all I can do about it now is pray."  

We tend to forget or overlook at times that prayer is our greatest resource and is the most effective thing we can do.  It needs to be our first response, not our last resort.

So far this study has been like an "intravenous shooting up of the Holy Spirit through my being."  I am finding myself longing to pray more than ever.

Have you ever given serious thought to your prayers changing the course of history?  Hey friend, it can happen.

Through faith and obedience, it can happen!

Hope your weekend is blessed.  

Love,

Dianne

Would you like to share your thoughts or your heart with me? My contact information is listed in the upper right of the sidebar. Please feel free to email me. I love hearing from you and cherish the friendships I have made through blogging. 

 © all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

I am linking with the good folks over at Spiritual Sundays.