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