God's Eyes of Love

             Just as Sunflowers can only bloom 
                     in sunlight,
               our souls can only bloom                        
          when we choose the "Son" light.

I look in the mirror
and see an old woman.
Where did all the wrinkles come from?

Where did my young self go?
Even my eyes look old.

People look at me differently
than when I was young.

In my heart of hearts,
I know that God looks past my imperfections,
past my wrinkles,
past the parts that don't work so well anymore. 

He sees me through His eyes of love.

When He saved me, I became a new creation,
His creation. 

I am now God's child
and regardless of my age and defects,
I know I am perfect in His sight,
when He looks at me
through His eyes of love.

Tim took this picture of me near a waterfall
at South Colton, NY

Indeed, the LORD watches those who fear him; those who trust in his gracious love.
Psalm 33:18

   
      Oswegatchie River near Black Lake, NY

            Notice the great beauty
                that our Loving Maker
               provides for our benefit. 

    
     The field behind my house near Potsdam, NY

Changes

The Canadian geese honk overhead
as they fly home for winter
Their mournful song heralds the end of summer

Flowers are almost gone by
Grass will soon stop growing
Shadows are longer
and greens cease to be fresh and new

    
       Mature soy field with corn stalks
            now that Fall is upon us.


The days are rapidly shortening
I’m glad to have the end of the oppressive heat
But I cringe to think of the upcoming cold and snow

I love the beauty of winter
– from inside my warm house

I loved to play in the snow when I was little

Now my bones resist the cold

My joints creak and stiffen from the bitter chill

I’m looking forward
to the brilliant color change of Fall

I appreciate the cooler nights
that bring better sleeping weather

I’m hurrying to finish the outside work for the year

   My flowering crab apple tree is very heavy laden with fruit this year.                   Some say that means a hard winter.  What do you think?

The shed and the deck need staining -
The outside flower pots and decorations will soon need to be put away for their long winter’s nap

Sweater and jacket weather is now upon us

It’s almost time to close up the house
and fasten the windows firmly shut
to keep out winter’s blasts

Part of me doesn’t want to give up
the freedom and beauty of summer

               Wild flowers in the field behind my house

Part of me is ready for the changes

Regardless of my preference,
Fall is here and time marches on

My life is like that

  God promises that we too will bloom greatly -
      we only have to cooperate with Him
      and His great love for us.
     

So many changes

Each one brings new circumstances
-some that I like and some I would rather skip

I am facing the Fall of my life
How many seasons I have left is unknown
My body has changed, my life has changed

From child to young woman, to middle age

Am I now a senior?

I have learned to “Hang on for the ride”
That life and our Maker gives us

To enjoy the beauty and joy of each day,

  There is no end to the beauty that God
      puts before us - out of His great love
             for each and every one of us.

To look for and find the positives
that each change brings
and to praise the Maker for His providence

To find a way to deal with the negatives
- with God’s help

And to look forward to tomorrow

   God created the heavens and the earth and He created you out of nothing but His great love.

For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans for welfare
and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

God Loves His Rascals

You know the ones I mean

They don't behave perfectly

They make lots of mistakes

They sin - sometimes the "big" ones
They keep falling and failing

The list goes on and on
The list of human imperfections is endless

Fortunately, God's love and grace are also endless

No matter who we are
No matter what our problems or imperfections are
No matter how chronic, how hopeless our lives
and problems seem

There is God

He never gives up on us - even if we give up

For Him, nothing is impossible

And He dearly loves all his rascals. 

For God so loved the world 

  that he gave his one and only Son

that whoever believes in him shall not perish

 but have eternal life.  John 3:16

God sees the good and the beauty in each of us.  Look at how lovingly He created His wildflowers.

Knapps Station Community Church

This is my church.  I have been fed spiritually here as I never had before.

(Check out the website for directions and lots of other great information.)

Our Chicken Pie dinner was a great success. The food was delicious and the fellowship was wonderful. If you missed it, please consider enjoying it next September.

Knapps Station Church is a great place to feed your soul with the "good stuff" from the Bible.

My church is always providing new bible studies. We have begun one on what it really means to be a Christian.
The class takes place every Sunday at 6:30 pm and runs 6 more weeks. It's not too late to start and find out what the word "disciple" really means.


Christian, It's Not What You Think

I would also like to suggest that you check out the blog page for my friend, Jean Oathout.  I have received much good information and many blessings from her blog:

Treasures in Christ

Amazing Grace to the Rescue  is a recent post that touched my heart.

Book Review

The Jesus I Never Knew

Phillip Yancey takes a serious look at the Jesus he found in the Gospels.  He explores Jesus as the passionate, dynamic, emotional and incredibly loving Son of God that we will find when we carefully read the Gospels and truly look at the One whose life inspired "the greatest story ever told!"  This book is one to be read slowly and savored in order to pick up the insights Philip Yancey learned from many decades of study.  

Audacious by Beth Moore

Do you have an "audacious" love of God?  Beth Moore, who is a dynamic teacher of Christian classes, takes on the challenge to lead women and everyone to learn to boldly love God who "audaciously" loves us and is longing for us to "audaciously" love Him in return.




Blessing

May you be blessed by the knowledge
   of God's great love for you
May you know that His love for you is limitless
May you realize in the very depth of your soul
   that Jesus was tortured to death 
   to pay for your sins (and mine too)
   because He loves you just that much
   and wants you to spend eternity with Him
And may you share the blessing 
   of that incredible love
   with everyone you meet

    Oswegatchie River near Black Lake, NY

Blessings for you,my friend for a wonderful week. 

All photos taken by Debbie and Tim McEwen - 

  used with permission

All bible reference from the NIV unless otherwise noted

If you are interested, you can click on the Blog Archive 

  dates on the top right side of this post to connect 

  to previous blog posts

I would love to hear from you either on the comment 

  section of this blog post or through my email  

  debbieamcewen@gmail.com

I post every other Saturday 

The next post will be 10-8-2016

           One last picture of the moon.
It is truly amazing the love and attention to detail
   that God gives each of His creations.
    That includes you!!