Each One Counts

                 These young barn swallows hatched in our garage.  

     My husband was using an impact wrench today and they never moved.  

                         One even seems to be sleeping.  

                      They have grown up in this garage 

             and know they have nothing to fear from my husband.  

                 Our Father is always near and watching over us.  

                      We are each so precious in His sight.

                              (Photo by Tim McEwen)

Every individual, every person, every soul,
every one of us that God created is precious 
in His sight.

He thought up each one of us 
long before we were born.

And He loves each of us without measure.

God desperately wants each of us 
to spend eternity with Him.

He loves us so much that He forgives us 
when we do wrong,ask for forgiveness 
and try our best not to sin again.

Just as we forgive our children when they say 
“I’m sorry” and mean it, 
when we do the same, all is forgiven. 

Regardless of what happens or what they do,
we never stop loving our children.

Neither does God.

God left nothing to chance.

He loves us so much that He sent 
His precious only Son to teach us how to live 
and love each other.

This Son paid for our sins and opened the door 
to heaven so each of us could spend eternity 
with our Heavenly Father.

After Jesus died, He sent the Holy Spirit to help us.

God gave us His Word, the Bible, the ultimate guidebook on our road to the greatest treasure, 
which is heaven for eternity with our Father.

God has provided everything we need
to follow that road leading to heaven.

We only have to choose to take that road.

God loves us so much that He wants to give us 
the opportunity to choose.

He does not force us.

But He is anxiously waiting for each one of us.

Will you join Him for eternity, precious child?

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  Matthew 10:29-31

             This petunia was growing out of the asphalt 
               in front of a restaurant in Waddington, NY.
                    God never ceases to amaze me 
        in that He showers blessings on me - large and small
                  Some, like this flower, just to please me.


Requests for prayers:
My dear friends, yesterday and today, we received news of 2 major earthquakes in California.  We need to pray for everyone involved.  This is so serious and so dangerous.

Also, my heart is breaking for the migrants who are living in cages in terrible conditions.  Children have been separated from parents.  Can we put politics aside and pray for all these people?  Most are here to escape even worse conditions in their home countries.   When asked who is our neighbor, Jesus gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan. Doesn't that make all these people our neighbors?
Please pray that this situation is resolved and made right.  If you can do more, please do what God leads you to do. 

James 1:22 says "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says."
Verse 27 says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

             This is some of the group from 2018's Vacation Bible School
         Splash Canyon 
     Vacation Bible School

  for children ages 4-12
when:  July 8-12, 2019; 6-8 pm
Knapps Station Community Church
3035 County Route 47
Norwood, New York  13668
Registration begins @ 5:30 pm
      Monday July 8
Come for the fun
Come and bring your friends.
Come for the games, snacks, crafts, songs and dances, puppet shows
Come to learn more about God through Bible Stories and verses
There is no charge for this fun time.
Friday night will have a hot dog cook-out with a bouncy house and more.

These are just a few pictures of the fun from last year.  Come and be in next years pictures.

With God All Things are Possible

          I could not create this kind of beauty on my own.  God created it.  
                                         I photographed it 
            and my husband edited the photograph taking out power lines 
                                  and enhancing the colors.
             It is amazing what we can do when we work with our Father.

I have taken on a new challenge 
to produce a blog 2 times per week. 
I feel stressed. 

How will I manage all that? 
How will I get all the pictures? 
How will I accomplish all I need to do? 

I looked at a serene picture 
and the Holy Spirit put the words in my mind 
and on my heart 
“What will the Lord give me?” 

This blog has never been about what I can accomplish. 
It has only been what the Lord gives and does. 

These are His words and if He wants me to do it,
“He will provide.”
And He always does. 

Remember that when life gets stressful. 
We can do little or nothing on our own 

but “With God all things are possible.”

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Matthew 19:26

         This the same sunset a little earlier and at a different location.  
        God gives us so much regardless of our location or point of view.  
                 We only have to check out what He provides.  
                We are enriched when we share God's bounty.  
             He makes it possible to have enough for ourselves 
                    and to share with those who are needy.

        The cloud formations and colors changes as the sunset progresses.  
            I love to take lots of pictures and see what I can get.  
               I have "chased sunsets" to accomplish that end.  
       God provides so much when we open our eyes and hearts to His love.


Blessing: 
My friend, may you allow our Heavenly Father
    to enter and inhabit your heart and soul
May you find your rest, 
    and the incredible JOY that only He can provide.

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 Wednesday and Saturday
The next post will be August 2, 2017

                              When you give Him a chance, 
                      He will lead you beside the still waters 
                               amid the storms of life 
                       and He WILL give peace to your soul.
       (photo taken at a campground near Eel Weir, near Black Lake, NY)

I Am Broken

                           This rock is permanently cleft in two.
                       However broken we may become, God can repair us.
                           We only have to ask and trust in Him.  

I am broken, Lord, I am broken

I totally surrender to You

I give it all to You

       When the future seems "foggy" read the "God's Word" for guidance.
                                  It has all the answers
               God will speak to you in ways you cannot imagine
                                   and give you peace.

My pride is gone
My spirit is broken

There is only You

And that is enough

You empty me out

                              I trust You to take me around the blind bends of life
                                and know You will take me to safety.
                   You guide me along the right paths and restore my soul.


And then fill me up with Your love

You mold me into a new person
Your person

My way is gone, broken, laid aside

I surrender to Your will and Your love

Thy will be done, not mine

And it will be perfect

                           The snow covered path is not easy
            but with God as your guide, the destination will be wonderful.

Surrender yourself to the Lord,
   and wait patiently for him.
      Psalm 37:7 God's Word Translation

            When you surrender to God, He makes all things beautiful.

I Lay It All at Your Feet, Lord

I give You all our problems

I give You all these pains, all this sickness,
   all these worries, all these concerns

            

We are all broken, Loving Father

Only You can mend us

Only You can take all these issues,
   all these problems,
   all this pain and make it right

          God's love and blessings will break through the ice of life's troubles
           and flow upon us if we only look to Him who is reaching out to us.

I give it all to You

I lay all of us at Your feet, at the foot of the Cross

I give You our talents and shortcomings

I raise our joys as well as our sorrows to You

I give You everything about us

We are weak but You are strong

We cannot handle our problems on our own

You can overcome them all

          Jesus is the light in the storm who will guide us to safety.

I lay them all at Your Feet, at the foot of the cross

You sent Your only Son to free us
         from the power of sin
   and to give us life everlasting,
         to give us life in the fullest

       God gives us a rainbow when and where we least expect it
                  so be alert for your unexpected blessings.

I offer us to You and humbly ask Your forgiveness
   for all our sins

I ask for You to take us, all that we are
   and make us into the children You want us to be

I humbly ask for that life in the fullest for us
   now Lord

I humbly ask You to help us now,
   in the time of our great need

   The clouds in this sunset seem to reach out to us as do the hands of God.
                              We only have to hold out our hands
                and He will take us and hug us in His loving arms.

Thank You Loving Father for loving us so much,
         for listening to our prayers
         and for coming to help us

Blessed be Your most holy name.  Amen

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

            I am nothing compared to the glory and majesty of our God.
                             But He loves me so much
                  that even the hairs of my head are numbered
                       and He knows that number so well.

Book Reviews



Why I Am a Christian by John Stott

Rev. Stott discusses why God who is "the hound of heaven" pursues us and why He values us so greatly. Rev. Stott says that Christianity explains who Christ is, what He achieved on the cross and explains who we are and much more..  Jesus never stops inviting us to come to Him. This is a very interesting and compelling book. I heartily recommend it. 




Billy Graham God's Ambassador by Russ Busby

God put it on my heart to check out Billy Graham. When was he born?  What did he do?  What did he stand for?  This book is full of helpful information and pictures that give a brief overview of exactly that. It has been in the back of my mind to learn about him for a long time.  The first time I experieneced the Holy Spirit was during one of Billy Graham's televised crusades. I borrowed this book from the Knapps Station Church Library. 

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Knapps Station Community Church has started a 13 week bible study entitled Preparing to Hear From God by Pricilla Shirer.  


He Speaks to Me by Pricilla Shirer

It started recently and promises to be a very fulfilling study. It's not too late to join.  I am looking forward to it.

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


Treasures in Christ Revival in India

My friend Jean Oathout has a blog post that is focusing on prayer and it's power.  I invite you to check it out.

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


Choosing Grace/Partnership in Marriage by Jane Ault

I invite you to check out the blog post of my friend Jane Ault as she give some great insight into her journey as a pastor's wife.

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Voice of the Martyrs

I invite you to check out this link to find out what Christians in some countries suffer just because they believe.  We have no idea how fortunate we are. Please pray for our less fortunate brothers and sisters.  


Blessing

May God grant you the wisdom to seek Him at all times and know that He is always there for you.
May you find the peace that surpasses all understanding when you turn to Him in prayer.
May you be blessed greatly, my friend!

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 February 11, 2017

May God bless you greatly until we meet again.

 

       Buffalo from behind Webster's Meat Market near Knapps Station

     These little footie prints were in the mud outside my house the other day.
             I think they might be from the skunk who gets under our porch
                                      and "perfumes" our house.

Are You Wounded?

Is your heart empty of JOY and life like this deserted house?
Do you have trouble and pain in your life?

Is your heart hurting?

Is there trouble and strife, stress, sickness, tragedy, sadness and turmoil in your life?

Look up.

Look to the One who is weeping for you
    and with you.

When the storm clouds are at their worst, Jesus will break through.

He cares

He will hold your heart in His loving hands
    and give you peace

Jesus leads us to the magnificent sunset at the end of a terrible day
          and gives peace to the soul.

Cry to Him

He is listening

He too suffered from the evils of the world

His heart was stomped into the ground

He was left raw and bleeding to death

His heart was pierced for us

Do you ever feel that life is beating you down?
The world closed in around Jesus and beat Him down the way nature is deteriorating this old house. 
Go to Jesus and He will help you through whatever life gives you. 

And He is God

He didn’t have to do this for us

But He loves us so much, He did it anyhow

And He would do it again – just for you

Hold out your hand to Him

He is there waiting for you

Run to the light that is Jesus and know that you will find your peace.

He will hold you and cry with you

He will dry your eyes and give you peace

He will help you through the worst

When you are wounded, go to Jesus

And know that you are loved!

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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

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

A beautiful sunset on the St. Lawrence River from Ogdensburg, NY. 
 

I Give It All To You

I'm running on empty
The gage is getting low
My reserve has been depleted
My heart is full of woe

I'm turning to You, Lord
You will know just what to do
I cannot manage on my own
I give it all to You

I Know that You are with me
You've been here every day
You've known me from conception
Your love is here to stay

I only have to call out
And lift my hand to You
You will come to my rescue
You will always see me through

My heart is filled with joy now
You filled it with Your love
You always come to help me
You lift me from above

I put my self in Your hands
I give it all to You
I give You all my problems
You always see me through


So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid
What can mere mortals do to me?"

Hebrews 13:6

Our goal is the far mountain.  We cannot make it on our own.  We don't have to. We have the Holy Spirit and we have the fellowship and support of our fellow travelers who are headed to the same destination.  Together, we will make it.
This is Whiteface Mountain Lake Placid, NY.

The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.The LORD will guard your going out
and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.
Psalm 121:6-10

When times get very difficult to bear find a house of God to feed your soul and to lead you home to your Father who is waiting patiently and lovingly for you.   Find a church that will feed you with the Word of God. Become part of a church family who will help you on your walk with Jesus. 

Pray, pray, pray at all times.  Your Father is patiently waiting to hear from you.

He always listens and always answers.  It will be His will, His way and in His time.  And His answer will always be in your best interest - in the long run.

This church is near South Colton, NY.  

I attend Knapps Station Community Church in Knapps Station, NY.

Knapps Station Community Church 

Blessings From United Prayer  is a blog post from my friend Jean Oathout discussing the value of prayer.

Commentary

When I wrote "Are You Wounded?" I was crying. My heart and soul were hurting for some problems that I had and for all the problems around me.  

There is so much difficulty, sickness and tragedy in the world.

Satan has a firm grip on so many situations and so many people. 

However, Satan is NOT the one in control. 

God is firmly in control. 

When Jesus was born, Satan thought he would eliminate Him when Herod killed all the baby boys. Joseph has to flee with Mary and Jesus but Jesus was safe. 

Satan thought he won the final battle when Jesus died on the cross.  However, Jesus rose from the dead and conquered death and Satan for us.  

Jesus always wins in the end.  

And so will we - if we just hang in there and trust in the One who loves us more than earthly life itself.  

We can be assured that a life following Jesus won't be easy BUT Jesus will walk every step with us and will lead us to victory.  

Remember the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." 

Every step of this blog post has been blocked and difficult.  The computer has been anything but cooperative.  This has been very busy this week.  

However, with God's help we can and will get through everything that Satan and the world throw at us.

With Jesus at our side we will always be overcomers. 

When we follow Jesus we will always win.

Jesus walks with us through the storm and gives us a rainbow.
He leads us to victory and to our heavenly reward.
We only have to hang in there.

He said, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 2Kings 6:16



Book Reviews



The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado  is a sweet Christmas story that could have come right out of Dickens.  We can never discount the power of a Christmas miracle. I borrowed this from the Knapps Station Library.  I recommend this.  

 

Why the Nativity? 25 Compelling Reasons We
Celebrate the Birth of Jesus by David Jeremiah
addresses 25 thought provoking questions surrounding the birth of Jesus.




Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip Yancey

is one of those gems to be read slowly and digested thoughtfully.  He gives so much meat to feed the soul.  If you let him, Mr Yancey will guide you to a deeper relationship with your Father.  I heartily recommend this book.




Basic Christianity by John Stott
discusses some basic Christian principles including was Jesus Christ the son of God? A good read for everyone.

The sun shining on the snow in my backyard.  

                              The Son is the light of our lives.

The Blessing

May the new year bring you 
   to the One who is seeking you
May you come to see that He truly loves you
   and will never lead you astray.
And may you find the peace
   that surpasses all understanding
   In our Loving Father

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 January 14, 2017

Happy New Year to you my friend and may God Bless you greatly!

This huge pile of logs was located near Santa Clara, NY.  We saw it last Spring.  I've seen lots of logging but never a pile this huge.