What Would You Have Me Learn from This, Lord?

                             The sky is gray.  Is a storm brewing? 
                     What am I facing?  What's going to happen to me? 
                                         Why is this happening?

Why did that happen?
Why are You allowing this to happen to me, Lord?

I ask and sometimes He lets me see that this world is not my home. I have not arrived home yet. I’m in school, in training. Each experience is a learning event. I am being evaluated by how I react, how I treat others as I would have them treat me. I am being evaluated on my attitude, how hard I try – even when I fail.  Am I learning?

God knows I am weak, but He cares when I keep trying, when I turn to Him for strength. He always knew I couldn’t make it on my own. He has been waiting for me to learn and accept the fact. He’s been waiting for me to turn to Him and make Him my strength. 

My flesh...may fail but God is the strength of my heart.   Psalm 73:26

He’s been waiting for my heart to soften from a heart of stone into a heart of flesh and to forgive as He has forgiven me my many sins – just because I ask, not because I could ever earn His forgiveness and will never deserve His forgiveness. 

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 
  Ezekiel 36:26

God has plans for me, plans to help and not to hurt. He as a job for me to do and I will be here until I complete that job.

He is molding me into the child He knows I can be and really am, deep down inside. I can stop Him with my willfulness. I can choose not to allow.  He did give me free will, but do I really want to use it to oppose Him?  Do I trust Him completely with my life and my future?  Do I trust the Creator of all that exists to make good plans for me?  I’d be a fool not to.

So, I put myself in His hands and when stuff comes up in my life that is difficult, that I may not want to do, I ask “What would you have me learn from this, Lord? and listen for His answers.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.    Jeremiah 29:11

                           God can change gray skies to blue.  

            There may still be clouds but the outlook is much brighter.  

               The scenery changes from gloom to brilliant beauty.  

            This is what happens to my life when I trust in the Lord, 

      when I trust that He has a plan for me and it involves teaching me, 

                               molding me into His child.

                      View is near ski jump at Lake Placid, NY.

Prayer Request:

There is so much turmoil in our country right now.  Please pray for everyone.  Please sew the seeds of kindness every chance you get.  We can only fight the darkness with God's light.  We can only fight evil with God's goodness.  And guess what?  God has already won the final battle for us. 

                          In the midst of darkness, 

                                 God brings His light and His love.  

                                 We only need to walk to the light 

                                   and to His outstretched hands.

All photos taken by Debbie McEwen

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 usually post every other Saturday.

Lately I have been very busy with Grandma duties on weekends 
    so I may try to post during the week.

As we live our lives and trudge through the problems and heartbreaks and JOYS that life brings, we need to remember that there is a heavenly reward waiting for us when we choose to follow God's way.  God is the golden light waiting for us on the other side. His eternal reward is beyond anything we can imagine.

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