Always and Forever

        "...He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul..."                  Psalm 23:2-3  King James Version
        In the midst of all the turmoil that is taking place all around us,
           we are safe and secure in the care of the Good Shepherd
                who loves us more than He loved His earthly life.
             We will still have difficulties, troubles, pain and hardship
              but He will bring us through and bring us safely home.

O Blessed Lord
You are steadfast and true, always and forever
You are love incarnate, always and forever
You are my patient teacher, my Savior, always and forever
I pledge my life, my soul, my heart, all my resources to You
I am nothing without You
I am straw in the wind without You
I would wander hither and yon without You
I know, I've been there
You give me purpose and peace
Your touch completes my being
You are the lover of my soul who makes me whole
With You, I am as I was meant to be
Without You, I am lost
Thank you, Blessed Lord for finding me and bringing me home
Where I will dwell with You always and forever.

I wrote this to read at my baptism in 2014.  I was baptized as a child but chose to rededicate myself to God and have never looked back. It has been an incredible blessing.

On August 27, 2017, the following people from Knapps Station Community Church chose to be baptized and to rededicate themselves to God at Arbuckle Pond near Higley, New York.

                                       Jacob Frego (black t shirt) with Rev. David Tulloch

   Maddie O'Brien with Elder Charlie Frego, Rev. Dave and Elder Harvey Smith

              Isabelle Matice with Charlie, Rev. Dave and Harvey.

             William Sherman (no shirt) with Charlie and Harvey.

                 Lisa LaBrake with Charlie, Rev. Dave and Harvey

                                             Kris Rozelle

                   Kari Dufresne with Charlie (her father) and Harvey.

                            Al DeLorenzo (white t shirt) with Jacob Frego

We each struggle each day to live as Jesus taught us.
May we always remember that He stands with us 
to help us through all our difficulties and problems. 

When we dedicate ourselves to Him, 
it greatly pleases Him and it surely affects us.  

When that last day comes and the trumpet sounds, our every effort will count.  
I believe that our attitude, our best efforts 
will count more than our worldly accomplishments.

Did we love our Father with all our hearts, 
all our minds, all our strength?  
Did we love our neighbor as ourselves?  
Did we repent of our many sins? 
If the answer is yes, at least we tried our best,
if as many times as we fell down,
we got up and kept trying again and again   
then Our Father will welcome us 
to paradise for eternity.

You and your soul are priceless to God.
He desperately wants to spend eternity with You.

There are only 2 choices 
    to burn forever in agony without God
    to spend forever in paradise with Him

Choose carefully where you put your priorities.
It matters, 
you matter 
always and forever.

All photos taken by Debbie and Tim McEwen unless otherwise noted-          

     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 October 7, 2017.

                              When we make a covenant with God,

                    He promises to keep us in His Loving Hands forever.                                 
                                  We may stray.  We may default.
                                          God NEVER will! 

                              God is faithful from forever to forever. 

                            ...His love endures forever. Psalm 100:5

                                

Please Help Us, Loving Father

Lord, hear my prayer,

listen to my cry for mercy;

in your faithfulness and righteousness

come to my relief.

Do not bring your servant into judgment,

for no one living is righteous before you.

Psalm 143: 1-2

Loving Father, I cry out to You on behalf of myself and my fellow man.

This world is in terrible turmoil.
There is war, oppression, discrimination, torture, greed, and all the sins that man can think of.

One country is testing nuclear weapons with the goal of bombing the United States.

There are wild fires in many areas of our country.
There are 2 major, devastating hurricanes in other parts of our country.

Our leaders are dividing our country, discriminating against people because of the color of their skin and their country of origin.
Many groups of people are being treated badly.

Our country was based on tolerance and freedom for all.
It was based on You. Even our money is printed with “In God we trust.”

We may disagree with each other.
Some of these groups may believe things we disagree with, even some that are against Your Word.

But You love us and You love them too.

We desperately need to find ways to deal with each other in loving, Godly ways.
We desperately need Your divine guidance.
We cannot do this on our own.

Please help us to use our hands, feet and tongue spread Your word and Your way.
Please guide us to do whatever we are able to help those in need.
Please guide us to treat all people as Your creatures who are loved dearly by You, regardless of their beliefs.

Guide us to reach out to our politicians to let them know how we feel and what we want.
Please guide all politicians and leaders to You and Your way, to make decisions based on Your Word.

Guide us to bring relief to others to the best of our ability.

Please teach us, guide us each and every day to spread the essence that is You and to bring peace to this world that is in so much turmoil.
Please teach us to pray before we act so all that we do is Your will, Your way and in Your time.

Please help us or we are lost.
I ask this in Jesus most precious name.
Amen

                   Our days may be so dark and foreboding.
                Fear and worry may fill our minds and hearts.
       When we turn to You, our Loving Father, You are always there.
            You are the light shining through the darkest clouds.
                              You will never desert us,
             regardless of what we have done or not done.
            You regard us just a little lower than the angels
           and desperately want us to spend eternity with You.
                          You are Love incarnate.
   I will turn to You, repent of my sins and rest safely in Your Loving arms.

"if my people, who are called by my name, 
will humble themselves and pray 
and seek my face 
and turn from their wicked ways, 
then I will hear from heaven, 
and I will forgive their sin 
and will heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14

                           Pictures of the brook near my house.
                   Our Loving Father will lead us to the still waters  

                         in the midst of life's worst turmoil
                                    - if we let Him.
             What will you choose? Where do you put your trust?
                                    Think carefully.

****************************

YUMMY, YUMMY!

Knapps Station Community Church will have their Annual Chicken Pie Dinner on 

Thursday September 21, 2017.

Time:  Takeouts may be picked up starting at 4:30

     Call (315)244-3159 or (315)212-9771 to preorder

           Dining In starts at 5 pm

Prices:  For a dinner:

            Ages under 5 and over 90   FREE

            Ages 5-12                         $4.00 each 

            Ages 13 to 89                    $8.00 each 

            For a whole chicken pie      $10.00

{Whole chicken pies must be preordered by Sept 19 by calling   (315)244-3159 or (315)212-9771}

MENU: 

          Chicken pie, mashed potatoes and gravy, squash, green beans, cranberries, rolls, apple crisp OR pumpkin pie.  Also coffee, tea, lemonade or water.

Is your mouth watering yet?  Mine is!

****************************

Blessing:

May you be blessed, my friend, in the knowledge that you have an incredible Loving Father who is watching over you.
May you have the faith to know that He will guide and take care of you through the most difficult times - if you let Him.

And may you have confidence that He will do all things for your ultimate good - regardless of how it appears at the time.

Please pray, my friend, for all the disaster victims in our country and all those suffering all over the world. Please pray for yourself and for me that we will keep to the straight path, stay the course and not give up. Satan is working hard to get our souls.  God is infinitely stronger. He is our strength but we must do our part and never give up. 

****************************

All photos taken by Debbie and Tim McEwen unless otherwise noted-          

     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 September 23, 2017.

          Live each day as if it is your last 
        and tomorrow, you meet your Maker!