I Open My Heart

                       Taken at Bolt Castle  Alexandria Bay, NY


              When the darkest storms arise, 
              God is our strength and refuge.  
  We can always trust in Him and He will protect us.

I Open My Heart

As a little child opens his box of most precious treasures to share with his most trusted friend, I open my heart to You, Lord.  

I know You can see what is there.  

You see the most secret, closed places that no one else knows about.  

You know what is there, my most treasured memories, my most hurtful memories, my deepest thoughts, my greatest concerns, my fondest hopes, my true heart's desire.   

I open them to You, Lord.  I give You complete access.  

I trust You completely because I know how much You care, how You treasure this place in me.  

I am Your precious child.  

Your love overwhelms me and I weep.  

I am blessed beyond measure.  

You listen. 

You care so very deeply for me, for all Your children.  

Blessed be Your most holy name.

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.   Psalm 62:8

    We can count on God to help us in ways our earthly parents only wish they were able to.

Near Keene Valley in the Adirondacks

God is our bridge over the turmoils of life.  

He stills the storms and calms the water.

God is more faithful than the hardiest tulip bulbs.

My heart delights at the sights and sounds of spring.  Even the lowly dandelion is welcome after the long winter and brown, bare ground of later winter/early spring.

Chipmunk

Woodchuck

Guinea Hens

I Pray for Their Souls

Every day I pray for my family, friends and many others for whom prayers have been requested.  

I consider it a blessing and a calling to do this.  

I pray for health, for provision and that needs be met.  

Most of all I pray that they all come to know and love God.   

I pray for their souls to spend eternity with Our Heavenly Father.  

So many do not see this as important.  

Some do not believe.  

This is very scary for me since I fully realize what will happen to them for eternity if they do not take this seriously.  

Hell is not to be taken lightly.  Eternity is a very long time.  

I asked God for words to pray and He gave me this. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for my family, my friends and everyone else to desire You.  

Please awaken in them a hunger and thirst for You and Your Word.  

Please lead them to You.  

I pray that at the appropriate time, heaven is bursting at the seams with all these souls.  

Please direct me to do my part to accomplish this.  

Please pour the blood of Your Son, Jesus on all of us so we live as You want us to.  

I thank You in advance for all the wonderful things You will do.  

I ask this in Jesus most precious name.  Amen.

You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.  Psalm 65:2

Early Spring at Black Lake, NY

                   Brook near West Potsdam, NY

                      Other side of the brook

The Prayer of Jabez

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel,
"Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! 
Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."And God granted his request.
1 Chronicles 4:10





I finished "And the Angels Were Silent" by Max Lucado this past week.  It addresses such questions as : What was Jesus' last week like? What did He accomplish? What was it like for the God/man to suffer the humiliation of being tortured to death by His creatures? Was He ever disappointed in His followers? How did He treat the one who betrayed the Son of God?  Did Satan win?  Is there hope for you and me?  What monumentous event occurred 3 days after the crucifixion?  What is the good news?



  
I also finished this one.  It has short sections from many of his books.  I highly recommend both books which I borrowed from Knapps Station Community Church library.  There is a lot of great reading there that I am looking forward to.  Check it out.  There are lots of Christian books by many good authors.

While you are at it, check out my church.  I highly recommend it as well.  They feed the body and the soul.

Knapps Station Community Church

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

The Blessing

I pray for you, my friend, the blessings that God gave Jabez.
Most of all I pray that you open your heart to God's love and joy for all the days of your life. 
I pray that when your life ends, that you rest in His gentle arms for all of eternity.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
  Matthew 11:28-30



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 5-19-2016  
  I have a retreat to attend that weekend 
  and will have to post early that week.
I hope to see you then.  

In the meantime, God's blessings on you, my friend.  Debbie

        One of my cats playing acrobat when he was a kitten