And the Clouds Parted

The clouds are gray and threatening.
It’s been raining.
The wind blows leaves hither and yon.

My mood is down-cast.
So much is happening
So many problems at home and in the world
So many issues to deal with.
Sometimes it’s over-whelming.

And the clouds parted.
The sun shone through.
The sky is still gray with patches of blue

But the day brightens
My mood brightens

My father is telling me that regardless of how dark my life becomes, He is with me always, beside me, helping with all my problems, with all life’s issues.

He says “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5
He never has and never will.

I am never alone.

He has a plan for me, a plan to help and not to hurt me – or you.

Be blessed, my friend.

This is the day the Lord had made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

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 gives us rainbows to remind us 
               that He walks with us through each of life's trials.

Happy New Year dear friend.
It's the time to reflect on what happened in 2018 and think about what we would like to accomplish in 2019.  I would encourage you to pray and ask God what He would like you to accomplish in 2019.
Your true happiness and fulfillment will come when you are working with your Father and living the life that He has planned for you.  I wish that happiness and fulfillment for you and that 2019 is your best year yet.

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.

The next post should be in about 2 weeks.

                               I'll close with a beautiful sunset.  

             I am so blessed that God has planted me in a beautiful area 

             and that He sets up wonderful scenery for me to photograph.

                            When I look at His wonderful sunsets, 

                 God seems to be saying "See you in the morning, child.

                                         Tomorrow is a new day, 

                             wait till you see the plans I have for you.

                      "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 

                           plans to give you hope and a future. "  

Are You Contagious?

                                                 
                    God's love is so amazing!
             He gives us incredible gifts of love.
        He only asks that we love and honor Him
            and treat each other as He treats us.

We need to become contagious

We need to model Jesus’ teachings and pray for each other at all times.

Pray, pray, pray.
Pray for healing. 
Pray for safety. 
Pray for success. 
Pray for revival. 
Pray for each other’s souls.
Pray for all our needs. 

Make your whole life a prayer.

You don’t know how?  

If you ask for direction,
God will show you and help you

.

Why do we need to do all this, you ask?  

Have your read the newspapers
or watched the news lately?  

Does the news sound positive and promising?  

Not by a long shot.  

So much needs to change
and it needs to start with each of us
doing every little thing we can to change our world.  

Be nice when nice isn’t called for. 
Show love when you are not treated lovingly.  

Smile when you see frowns. 
Smiles are contagious too.    

Ask God to direct you
and He’ll let you know what you can do to help.  

Then do whatever He directs you to.

You think I’m crazy to suggest this?  

Maybe I am
but the alternative of doing nothing or going along with the status quo is crazier.  

Please join me in my crazy prayers and say:
Help us Lord, we are floundering. 

Change us. 
Soften our hearts to love more.  

Please forgive our sins and help us to not sin again.

Help us to love You first and to love each other as we love ourselves.
  Amen.

Imagine a world where this behavior
became contagious and spread everywhere.  

Let’s become contagious together for the Lord.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12

                                    Top of Gore Mountain in New York State
             When our path becomes too rocky
                  and difficult to continue,
             God holds out His loving hand.
      We need to do the same for each other.

Always Forgive         

We cannot hate as others hate
We must love as the Lord has loved us
In our times of great sorrow
And they will come
We must turn to God for guidance
We must lay our troubles at His feet
No matter how minor, how severe
and everything in between
We must lay our problems at Jesus' feet, at the cross
He will pick up our burdens and carry them for us
He will wipe our tears
He will hug and comfort us
Usually in ways that are a mystery to everyone except Him
If anyone had reason to hate, it was Jesus
When he was ridiculed, beaten, scorned, betrayed, crowned with thorns, lied about and tortured to death
He said "Father, forgive them,
they don't know what they are doing."
He forgave them and He forgives us
Therefore we must also forgive, no matter what.
God will find a way for us, if we only turn to Him.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32

Treat each other as you would want to be treated.

We Could Move Mountains

O God, I anguish for the victims
of all the turmoil in the world

I hurt for all the murdered, all the tortured,
all the harmed souls

I hurt for all the people who are hurting so badly
that they feel they must harm others.

I cry for the people in the war torn areas,
for the little children
who will never know the security, the food,
the safety, the shelter, the medical care
and the parental love that I always took for granted

I weep for the families of the victims
of senseless shootings,
for the children who will never see adulthood.

My heart aches for all the parents
who have to bury their children. 
No parent should ever outlive his child.

I pray for the victims and the perpetrators
of all the heinous crimes

I wish I could do something
to prevent more senseless tragedy.

Then I pray. 
I pray to God
that for just one moment
that He would open the hearts of everyone
to Him and His love.  

You say what good would that do?  

Have you ever had a flu virus hit you?  It only took a moment to infect you.  Have you ever had a computer virus
hit your computer?  It only took a moment
to incapacitate your computer.  

Jesus is so powerful
that if everyone opened their hearts to Him
for just one moment, imagine what could happen.

With God, all things are possible
and if we would all pray
for just one moment every day
"Jesus, for just this one moment, please open the hearts of everyone to your love."  

With Jesus' mighty help, we could move mountains.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.  Matthew 5:44

                    After Spring flood at Black Lake, NY
         When the floods of life leave debris
      we all need to pitch in and help each other.

My Thoughts for Today

I was figuring when my next blog post will be and realized that it will publish just before the anniversary of 9/11.  

As Franklin D. Roosevelt said about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 9/11 will go down in history as a day of infamy.

  

There is so much hate in this world.
In my little way I want to spread God's love.
He created all that exists out of His great love.

I ask everyone to stop and think about this.
I ask everyone who reads this to do something to spread a little love, a little kindness.

Terrible things are happening.
There were major earthquakes this past week in Italy and Myanmar.

There have been so many bombings in so many areas.

There are terrible floods,droughts, famines, deadly diseases and forest fires.

Are we approaching the End of Days?

I have no idea but I do know God is speaking to us and we need to listen.

We as a race cannot continue to ignore God and others thinking only of ourselves.

We need to remember what Christ told us:

 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’“This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’    Matthew 22:37-39

Even the "bad guys", the perpetrators, need our kindness and our prayers.  How else will we prevent further events like 9/11?

Please remember 9/11 and commemorate it by making the world a better place to live with more of God's love.

And pray like your life depends on it.
Because it does!

Thank you and God Bless you.

       Boat launch and picnic table near South Colton, NY
This sign prohibits swimming for safety reasons.
We need to make sure we don't exclude people without Godly reasons.

  Knapps Station Community Church

This is my church.  I have been fed spiritually here as I never had before.

(Check out the website for directions and lots of other great information.)

It's a great place to feed your soul the "good stuff" from the Bible.

Stalks of corn growing in a soy field.
We stand out when we live God's way.

Just as these bugs are eating this plant and will leave it damaged and dying, sin will eat our souls and leave us empty and lifeless.

Our world is falling apart like this old shed. We need to work together and rebuild a better version
one based on God's blueprint.

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

      Everything and everyone that God makes is           fearfully and wonderfully made
         even the details of this moth's wings. 

The God I Never Knew

This is a very enlightening book about the Holy Spirit and all the gifts He gives us. I have not hurried through it because there is so much "meat" to digest and learn from.  It's well worth the read!

  Our world is very stormy.  Only God can break up the clouds.

The Blessing 

I pray that God will bless us with love and tolerance for all our brothers regardless of the color of their skin, their beliefs or how they act.
I pray that God will help us to learn to make Him first in our lives and to treat all men as our brothers.

I pray that we listen to the words of the song that said "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me."
I pray that we imprint those words on our hearts and live every day of our lives that way.

I pray that the peace that surpasses all understanding may find its way into your heart today and remain there always.

                  Part of Bolt Castle in Alexandria Bay, NY 
Jesus is our bridge from this world to the next.

Blessings for you,my friend for a wonderful week 

and a safe, happy holiday.

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 9-10-2016

            Waterfall at South Colton, NY

   Amish boys on hay wagon with large round bales of hay.

How Much Do I Trust You, God?

Bridge over river between Potsdam and Hopkinton, NY

When we stand on a bridge and watch the river below us, we trust that the bridge is safe.
When we walk through life, we can trust that God will be with us no matter what life hands us.

How much do I really trust God?

I’d like to think that I trust Him completely.

Why then is there a little part of me that tries to take control and make things happen on my own?

Why do I think I know more or could possibly accomplish more than the Great I Am who created the heavens and the earth out of nothing but His love?

Why do I trust with some things but not with everything?

God is my father, my Abba, my Daddy.

On one level I know that He can really do it all.

Why then is there that little place that sometimes doubts, just a little?

I wish it wasn’t so.

I’m learning to trust more all the time,

but I am really a work in progress Lord, 
and I need lots of help in so many areas.

Thank you Lord that You are so patient and loving, so gracious and forgiving.

Otherwise I surely would be lost.

I want to be able to say and totally believe with every ounce of my being that I trust You completely.

I believe, Lord.  Please help my unbelief.

“The God who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of the Philistine.”  1 Samuel 17:37

David said this before he defeated Goliath.

At the time, David was just a boy, probably a young teenager. 

The Philistine army had invaded the land of the Israelites and David’s brothers went off to fight a battle.  David’s father, Jesse sent David with food to the site of the battle to check out the welfare of his brothers. 

When David got to the battle, he found that the Israelites were paralyzed by fear.  

The Philistines had a huge giant of a man who challenged any one of the Israelites to come and fight him.  
Everyone was afraid.  David was not. 

He trusted that God would protect him just as God had protected him all the times he fought off predators who attacked the sheep that he defended. 

David challenged Goliath, “in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (verse 45).   

Goliath was unbeaten and very sure of himself.

Goliath had a huge spear, shield, javelin and lots of armor.  

David had God on his side.  David had refused armor. Instead he just chose 5 smooth stones for his slingshot.    

David and Goliath ran toward each other.  Goliath raised his spear to kill the puny boy who dared to challenge him.  David chose one stone, put it in his slingshot and let it fly.

In that one motion, the boy, David killed the mighty Goliath and won the battle for the Israelites and for God.

Can we trust God completely?  

David trusted God and he beat a giant.  

Do we have any problem bigger than Goliath?  

God can overcome that too.

I paraphrased what you will find in 
     1 Samuel chapter 17.

God finds unique ways to tell us that He loves us.
This is a heart shaped repair patch in the pavement in the road in from of my driveway.  
Imagine what you will find if you keep your eyes and heart open to Him!

                              Delphenium

God is the master of details.
Notice the beautiful blending of blues and purples.

                         
                           Stella Doro Lily

                            Bleeding Heart

                                                Queen Anne's Lace

                    Anybody know what this is?

                         Lily pad on a pond

The next time you see a beautiful flower, really notice all the details, the scent and the delicate touch.
This is one of the many JOYS, God put on His earth for our enjoyment.
Just imagine the JOYS of heaven!

  

           At a little river near Santa Clara, NY

I know clouds are only bodies of water vapor BUT
when I look at the sky with all the beautiful cloud formations, my soul tells me that God painted them
with His mighty paintbrush just for us to enjoy.
Think of His love for you the next time you see a cloud. 

When you admire the beauty that God puts in His flowers and His clouds, imagine the love He puts in you:
You are made in His image and likeness 
            (Genesis 1:27)
He chose you because He loves you.
             (Deuteronomy 7:8)
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
             (Psalms 139:14)
You are God's precious child and He loves you dearly.
             (Isiah 43:4)

                 Blue Heron photographed at Black Lake, NY

And the Rains Came

It has been so dry.

 
The ground was hard and the grass was turning brown.

 
It has not grown and did not need mowing this week. 

The flowers are still in bloom only because we water them.

The air has been damp and muggy but doesn’t help the growing stuff.

Pollen and dust have spread on the breezes.

The sky turned dark.  Rain was predicted.

And then the rains came, pouring in torrents.

In short order, puddles are forming on the hardened ground, 
soon to be absorbed.

The grass is already starting to become greener. 

Thunder rumbles.

Trees and bushes blow, trying to travel along with the sheets of rain.

Because they are firmly grounded and rooted deeply, they bend with the Southern gusts, but do not accompany the breezes.

Everyone and everything hunkers down to wait out this storm.

Welcome rain.  

Welcome this greening up of the earth.  

Welcome clean air so I can breathe easier.

Thank you Loving Maker for this reprieve.

                   Brook near Nicholville, NY

Knapps Station Community Church

(Check out the website for directions and lots of other great information.)

It's a great place to feed your soul the "good stuff" from the Bible.

We just finished our week of Vacation Bible School. We were blessed with 59 children and almost as many volunteers. Praise God for His great blessings!

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 Most Important Measure of Prayer  

is a recent post that I found helpful.

A Remembrance "You Can't Get Away"

When I was very small, I played "you can't get away" with my grandfather who raised me. He would carry me to my crib at bedtime and when he put me in, I would hang on as tightly as I could, for as long as I could, but eventually he would slip away so I would get to sleep.

Today I want to play "you can't get away" with God for real. I want to hang on tightly and never let go. I know He will never let me slip through His fingers. I want to rest in His arms for all of eternity.



Montrose Christian Writers Conference

I will attend this conference starting Monday 7-18 to Friday 7-22-2016 for the second year. It is located in Montrose, PA,
Last year, I got set up to start writing this blog.
My friend Jean Oathout has also been a great help in getting my blog going and keeping it on track. Thank you, Jean.
This year I have no idea what God has planned for me but I know it will be great. With Him and His love, it always is.

Book Reviews

Silver Linings, Keeping Faith During Tough Times was a gift.  This book is an inspiring collection of short articles, "snipits" and quotations to help us persevere when times are difficult or even seem impossible.

Memorable Scenes From Old Testament Homes

This book by Charles R. Swindoll gives us insight into the lives of some of the people of the Old Testament. It provides some understanding of why these people did what they did and their great faith in God.

The Blessing

May you be blessed each and every day of your life

   with wonder and awe at the the might and                majesty of your Loving Father.

May you never cease to be filled with the JOY

    of knowing that you are His precious child.

    His love for you is limitless!

Jesus died to prove this incredible love.

REJOICE and be glad that you are His!

Blessings for you,my friend for a wonderful week 

and a safe, happy holiday.

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 7-30-2016

I hope to see you then. 

An egret nesting on a light pole in a field on the road to Saranac Lake, NY.