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Friday, November 18, 2016

Bushels of Blessings

All creation sings the praises of the Lord
Every mountain, hill, stream and sunset shouts
  "The Great I Am made me
  Look at His creativity
  Behold what He can do and what He does
  None can compare with the one and only Yehovah
  Look at His handiwork 
    and let your heart shout His praises"

Bushels of Blessings

Praise you Lord for the bushels of blessings
   that cascade from heaven


I don’t always see them
I don’t always feel them

But You shower them down on me
   each and every day of my life



               Near boat docks in Ogdensburg, NY
   God smiles at us and gives us glimpses of heaven
         if we only open our eyes and our hearts.


The moments with no pain
The magnificent sunsets
The smiles that reflect Your love



The way You ALWAYS listen, always care,
   always answer when I pray


You are closer than a heartbeat away
Always there, loving me, guiding me
   if I will only cooperate


You chose me and loved me beyond measure
   from the instant that You chose me


When original sin changed me
   and what I am able to do,
   You intervened


You put Yourself in harm’s way
    to re-create the path back to You
    that sin had destroyed


You suffered the ultimate humiliation for me
Because You love me that much

Even when I ignore or deny You,
   You never forget me,
     

You never turn Your back on me

               God always helps us find a way 
        through all the clouds and storms of life

I don’t deserve all Your blessings
   and could never do enough
   to earn Your love and grace
But You do it anyhow

    I thank you Lord for the daily blessings You send.

Soon I will celebrate Thanksgiving
   and give thanks for all my blessings


With You and Your love,
   every day is cause for thanksgiving
   as You send Your bushels of blessings
   each and every day of my life


Thank You so much for all You do, 
   my wonderful, Loving Father.

Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.          Psalm 66:16



                       Ogdensburg near Ford St. Extension
Most of the trees in the area have lost their leaves.  These brilliant red ones stand out
  with their magnificence
  just like a Christian living for Jesus.

Praise you, Jesus for their beauty.





Commentary:

Thanksgiving is Thursday.  I have so much to be grateful for this year.  My husband, Tim and I celebrated 43 years of marriage in July.  It is a blessing to realize that I am married to my best friend.

                       Tim and Simba the cat

It hasn't always been easy.  We've had many ups and downs.  However, the time since we began our walk with Jesus has been the very best so far. 

                          Swamp near Madrid, NY

Our walk has gone through the easy and the difficult.                With Jesus' help
   we will always find love and beauty together.


Tim had successful bariatric surgery in January and has lost almost 100 pounds since them.  He had successful cataract surgery on both eyes in October and complete hip replacement Nov. 8.  So far his recovery from the hip surgery has also gone very well.  

I KNOW that only God has control of our lives and has caused the surgeries to go so well. The good will and prayers of our wonderful church family at Knapps Station have also been instrumental in the positive outcomes.

Knapps Station Community Church

I am blessed with a loving family and many friends.

      On the 11 Mile Road between Santa Clara and Paul Smith's College, NY

              God, family and friends
      have helped us over many rough spots.


You, my readers have blessed me by checking out my blog posts and leaving comments.  Your encouragement has kept me going especially in the beginning when I felt like I was floundering.  

I guess I'm still muddling through but now I know that God is completely in control of my blog as well as my life.  He gives me the words and directs me to the pictures He wants me to use.  I could never do this on my own.  I am just the channel for Him to use to speak to you. I am blessed that He honors me by using me. 

                        A farm near Madrid, NY

              Round hay bales and a farm near Lisbon, NY

                        Grazing cows near Lisbon, NY


I feel that I live in "God's country" which is Northern New York State near the Canadian border.  My pictures should reflect my love for this area.

        

I could go on and on for a very long time counting my blessings.



I encourage you to think about your blessings.  No one is just lucky.  All good comes from God and He is so generous with His blessings.  The more you realize that it is God's intervention  that causes any good fortune and give Him credit, the more He will bless you.  

Sometimes blessings come in disguise and don't seem like blessings. Then you have to trust His timing, His love and His wisdom. Trust that He does all things for your good and know that it will all come out best for you in the long run.

                   Boat launch at Santa Clara, NY
God provides the boat to get you to the distant shore.  If the boat develops a leak, He helps you bail it. If you work with Him, He will never let you sink.


Trust Him and God will come through for you - every single time.  His love for you is limitless and He is anxious to show you how much He really loves you. 

Give Him a chance and get ready to be amazed!


I'm not doing a book review this time since the commentary is so long.  I'll be back to book reviews next time.


Blessing:


I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving
I wish you many bushels of blessings
    for the coming year and the rest of your life
I pray that you open your heart to the peace and love     that only our Blessed Lord can give
And I pray that our Blessed Redeemer greet you
    with open arms when you pass into eternity. 






All photos taken by Debbie and Tim McEwen - 
  used with permission

Please note that there is a translate box in the top right hand side of this blog post that will translate this into several different languages.  
Many thanks to my friend Jean Oathout for finding this feature and helping me add it to my blog.

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 12-3-2016

 Tim and Rev. Dave Tulloch.  "The mighty fishermen."




Saturday, November 5, 2016

Do I Bug You, Lord?





         Part of Norwood Lake seen from Sober St. Road between Norwood and Norfolk, NY

Am I annoying?
I certainly make lots of mistakes,
            commit lots of sins
            some accidental
            some deliberate

Sometimes I’m good
Sometimes, I’m rotten
Sometimes I don’t even like me

Why do You always love me?


         God demonstrates His mighty love for us 
                    in unexpected ways.
         Notice the unexpected beauty He provides
                   in out of the way places.  

I’m just a very minor creature, no one special
But You always treat me special
            no matter what I do or don’t do



              My neighbor's trees are so pretty

You are the Creator and Lord of all the exists
            and You love me so much

I could never do enough to earn all You do,
            all You give



What would happen if we could see our world through God's eyes?  Would we see how beautiful it is and would we come to realize a tiny fraction of His mighty love?

You are so amazing
You bless me so greatly


      View from my back yard


Blessed, Blessed be Your most holy name.

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




Before It’s Too Late


Some say the end is somewhere around the bend, sometime in the future
But when?


                     View from dry bridge near Norwood, NY

How much time do I have?
Can I do everything I want and still “get ‘er done”?

I really don’t want to go to hell

But all that work to learn about Jesus, the Bible,
    the rules, going to church
Is it really necessary?

I want to have fun now
I want to do as I please
Isn’t that what everybody says and does?

Why do I have to be different?

I guess I like the way some of “those church people”    treat me but what they do looks like so much work



They do look happy

They invited me to church
     and said “no strings attached”

I suppose I could go just one time
     and see what this stuff is all about

They seem really concerned, even worried about me.
They said I need to be saved before it’s too late.


                    Cemetery near dry bridge Norwood, NY

But do I really?

They said this guy Jesus loves me.
Why should he?

They said He died just for me to make up for my sins

I’ve done a lot of sinning in my time

Why should He care what happens to me?
Maybe I’ve done too many bad things
   for Him to ever love me

They said I’m His child and He loves me so much
   that He died a terrible death just for me,
   to pay for all the sins I’ve ever done or ever will do

I guess it wouldn’t hurt to check out someone
   who loves me that much.

They said He’s reaching out His hand to me
  Is the shadow reaching out to the trees like God's loving hand reaches out to us, His precious, beautiful children?

That all I have to do is accept
   that outstretched hand
   and tell Him I’m sorry for what I’ve done wrong        and I can spend eternity with Him in heaven



   The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
   Psalm 23 1-4

Otherwise when I die, I go to the other place
   that’s “hot as blazes” for eternity.

They said Jesus is calling,
   telling me that His love for me is limitless

“Those church people” said they’d help me too.

What do I have to lose?

Maybe I better check this out before it’s too late.


                          Same cemetery

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who 
wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.  
1Timothy 2:3-6
  



The Old House in Fall


Rain thrums on her roof

Car wheels whoosh on the wet pavement nearby

Her flowers are asleep awaiting winter’s passage

Her still green lawn is littered with leaves
   from her near naked trees





Inside, the clock on the wall tick, tick, ticks

Faint hums come from the computer on the desk

The old house is quietly breathing

Witnessing the passage of time

Having seen decades of season changes

Having sheltered many families
   who have called her “Home”

Patiently enduring the changes
   they have made to her

Patiently facing whatever awaits her.

For everything there is a season, a time for 
every activity under heaven.  Ecclesiastes 3:1
(New Living Translation)




Book Review:




Christian Caregiving by Kenneth Haugk

This book gives insight into the world to Christian Caregiving, into giving care to the whole person from a Christian perspective. It discusses that we need to provide the care and leave it to God to provide the cure.  It discusses how caregivers' jobs are to meet the needs of their patients and to look to God for guidance.  It discusses things like even when we pray with someone, we should ask what they would like in the prayer to make our praying as beneficial to them as possible. This book is the basis of the Caring Ministry at Knapps Station Community Church.

Jesus said, " the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Matthew 9:37-38

We at Knapps Station Community Church plant, tend, and harvest crops, but God causes the growth, the healing and the cure in people's lives.
Our God gives us the strength and compassion to reach out to others.
The motivation for our Christian caring is summarized in 1 John 4:19
"We love because he first loved us ".

We show our love for others by reaching out to those in need by phone calls, sending cards, making meals, hospital visits, nursing home visits, home visits, nursery coverage and the power of prayer. Individuals do not have to be members of our church to be recipients of these services.  We extend our minisry to anyone in our area and pray for everyone whose need is made known to us.

Our ultimate reason for caring is Jesus Christ. Knowing this affects our identity, attitude, confidence and perspective as a Christian Caregiver.


Knapps Station Community Church


Commentary:

Don't forget to set your clocks back tonight.
The old saying is that we "fall back" in Autumn and "spring ahead" in Spring. Let us resolve to try our best not to fall back on our old habits but to always spring ahead striving toward Our Father and our eternal home with Him.

This is my 26th blog post, the completion of my first year of blogging.  It has been a great blessing for me and I am so grateful that you have shared it with me. You will bless me greatly if you join me for this next year. I would welcome your comments and suggestions to make my blog relevant and helpful for you.  God's blessings on you.





The Spirit Help Us To Pray
is a new blog post from my friend Jean Oathout.  You may find it informative and helpful.

                 When we follow Jesus,
           we shine with His light and love.



Blessing:

May the blessings of our Loving Father fall on you
   as the leaves fall from the trees.

And may His blessings remain with you
   all the days of your life.




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 11-19-2016


                                    An Amish buggy