Saturday, July 9, 2011

Weekend Worship 1



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Just for a moment while you are here,
If you can, forget the cares of the world,
Ask God's Holy Spirit
to filll you with His love and His presence.
Bask in His love, the warm balm of His comfort,
For He cares for you deeply
and seeks, even yearns, for a deep intimate
relationship with you.


Father God, bless each one that worships here today.
May this be a peaceful place, full of grace and gentleness,
an oasis from the cares of the world.


James


We have heard the joyful sound:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Spread the tidings all around:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to every land,
Climb the steeps and cross the waves;
Onward!--'tis our Lord's command;
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Waft it on the rolling tide,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves;
Tell to sinners far and wide,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves;
Sing, ye islands of the sea,
Echo back, ye ocean caves;
Earth shall keep her jubilee,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.

Sing above the battle's strife,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves;
By His death and endless life,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves;
Sing it softly thru the gloom,
When the heart for mercy craves,
Sing in triumph o'er the tomb,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.

Give the winds a mighty voice,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves;
Let the nations now rejoice.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves;
Shout salvation full and free,
Highest hills and deepest caves,
This our song of victory,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.


(You may pause blog music at the bottom of this page)




My Prayer
Lord, I take this opportunity to praise you
Even though I feel very dry within myself--
A desert that is cracked and barren, where plants
that once thrived have now become parched and shriveled--
that is how my soul feels--
Do I know beyond a shadow of any doubt that someday
that same barren, cracked, parched land will
flow with rivers of milk and honey? Yes, I know that--
My faith knows that from years of experience,
but my heart cries out to be released from all its sin,
its ugliness, its resentments and hatreds, bitterness, and jealousy--
My heart cries out to praise from a pure heart once again,
To praise my God from a heart of pure devotion,
from total and complete commitment to Him,
My heart longs to be a heart of flesh and
not a heart of stone--
A heart that has been circumcised to all the vile
and filthy things of the world we live in--
A heart where no area examined will expose anything
except cleanliness, no impure thoughts,
only righteousness, justice, and mercy.


God's Response

The Lord Himself will come to those
who are experiencing the desert of grief.
He Himself will shower the parched land.
He will rain on every inch until it is soaked--
Until the runoff of the Holy Spirit's balm
fills every nook, crack, and crevice
of your heart and soul.
Then you shall minister to others
who are experiencing this same grief. You will teach
them to rejoice, to clap their hands, to give way to
the rhythm in their feet--You will teach them to
praise God at all times--to cherish His promises,
to seek out the "hidden manna" of
Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior.
And then I Myself will come to you and wrap
you in fine linens--linens of purest white--
linens of righteousness, justice, and peace.
And when I look at you, I will see Jesus,
for He has taken all sin, all shame, all degradation
upon himself.
He has exchanged garments with you and
now you are clothed as in LIGHT--when others
look upon you, they will see Jesus and His brilliance.
They will see His love waiting to save them
from the same sin and destruction from which

He saved you.


novelty

God's blessings and benedictions to you,
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."
Jude 24-25



Y a aquel que es poderoso para guardaros sin caída, y presentaros sin mancha delante de su gloria con gran alegría, 25 al único y sabio Dios, nuestro Salvador, sea gloria y majestad, imperio y potencia, ahora y por todos los siglos. Amén.


A repost from past pages

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Sweet Blessings


This ragtag little guy was the only gardenia left--out of myriad blooms on three gardenia bushes--when I trekked into the desert of our backyard yesterday. It was down at the very bottom of the bush, almost on the ground, yellowed and browned from the extreme heat we are experiencing.

However, when I brought it in and placed it in the smallest room in our home, it gave off the most aromatic incense that greeted me with arms of lovely fragrance every time I walked in.

You may be battle-scarred today from the wars of this life but remember--that is when the rose radiates its most beautiful fragrance--when it has been crushed--

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Ablaze With His Glory!



'No man on earth has this passionate love to the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Ghost has imparted it to him. We may admire Him, we may respect Him and reverence Him, but we cannot love Him. The only Lover of the Lord Jesus is the Holy Ghost, and He sheds abroad the very love of God in our hearts. Whenever the Holy Ghost sees a chance of glorifying Jesus, He will take your heart, your nerves, your whole personality, and simply make you blaze and glow with devotion to Jesus Christ."--Oswald Chambers

While passionate about my beloved United States of America and loving it and the ideals we were originally founded upon, my hope and prayer is that all may see where my true devotion lies--the only one that really matters in the long run.

Lord, set my heart ablaze and make my life glow with devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ--this is my prayer.

Happy fourth of July to all my USA readers and to all my foreign readers--I pray that we may be one in our devotion to Jesus. If you do not know Him today, I beg of you to give Him a chance. In humility, cry out to God for Him to show Himself to you. He will do it in the person of Jesus Christ--the only way He can be revealed. Those are His Words, not mine. A great place to start learning of Him is in the book of John in the New Testament.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Renewal Ranch Update

One of our newest residents, Justin, was baptized on June 24, 2011.  What a glorious sight to behold.  Our hearts are overwhelmed with thankfulness and gratitude at what God is doing in Justin's life.


Dr. Larry Pillow shares a brief word.





Kyle, a resident who was baptized on June 12, prays over Justin and his baptism.



Family and friends gathered on the deck of the bunkhouse bow their heads in prayer.



Well, all except one cutie--this is Alvin's precious son.













The beautiful picture of dying to self and sin--



and being raised to new life in Christ--thank you, Lord!


and a benediction of tears!

For those of you new to my blog, Renewal Ranch is a non-profit organization for men addicted to drugs/alcohol who wish to have their lives restored through Christ where my husband and I volunteer.  It is a 6 month totally free program located in Conway, AR. For more information you may go here or here.


Volunteering at the Ranch has become one of the greatest sources of joy I've ever experienced in my life.  I am filled with gratefulness to God for a chance to give back in some small way.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Here I Am to Bow Down!



My granddaughter, Kailey, and I drove to a beautiful sunflower field today.
















This beautiful maized face seemed to be bowing before our King almighty--couldn't help but think of this praise song.

Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that your my God
You're altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.

I had never studied myriad sunflowers up close and personal before. It surprised me how individual each sunny face was. Hope you enjoy viewing these lovely creations of our Lord.