In the Palm Of Your Hands

Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

your walls are ever before Me. Isaiah 49:16

Please pick us up and hold us in the palm of Your mighty hands.
Please keep us safe.

Direct us where You want us to go.
Speak to us, open our ears so we listen for You and to You.
Open our eyes so we see You.

Soften our hearts so we want to do Your will.

Please make us Your children.

Help us to see what You see.
Help us to do what You want.
Help us to value what You value.

Forgive us when we stray.
Help us to see what we did wrong, to ask for forgiveness and to seek the way back to You.

Please help us when we stray over and over again.
We are so weak
Thank you so much that You are almighty and are able to help us.

We desperately need You, especially right now.
Or we are lost.

We are like little birds who fell out of the nest.
We need to go back.
But we cannot do it on our own.

Please pick us up and hold us forever
And we will be safe and will be home.

In the palm of Your loving hands.

Amen.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. 

Matthew 10:29

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 

Matthew 6:26 

These are difficult, scary times to be alive.  
There is only One who knows how to manage these times and His loving hands are out stretched just waiting for us to reach out and take them.  He will then guide us through these tumultuous times. 

 

These pictures of flowers were taken 

at Montrose Conference Center in Montrose, PA

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" Matthew 6:28-33

Blessings on you dear friend.

May you feel the peace that passes all understanding that can only come from our Father.

Please pray for this world and all the turmoil in it and all the problems.  Satan is working overtime.

God and His angels 

are also working overtime.

Satan is no match for our Father.

Remember, Satan has already 

lost the battle.

We just have to keep fighting 

the good fight.

Until next time,

remember

God is always on your side.

God is waiting for us now and at the end of our time here on earth.

Eternity will be magnificent if we choose to go with Him.  

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.

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.

What Will You Choose?

                                 Sisson Road near Potsdam, NY

                          Which way will you choose for your path?

                                      Each one looks desirable.

                        Which one will get you where you need to be?

                          Only the Divine Navigator knows for sure.

                              He always directs us on the right path.

Life is a series of opportunities.
A right or a left turn.
A good or a not so good response to a situation.

For me it’s been a lot of mistakes and often the opportunity to resolve those mistakes.
A time to reflect that if God forgave me all the wrongs that I’ve done then I must forgive whatever and whoever has wronged me.

Nothing done to me could ever compare with the wrongs that I have done to God with my sins.

However, God made me and He knows I’m not perfect.
He sees deep into the innermost parts of my heart, soul and mind.
He sees my intentions, my efforts and the results.

In my heart of hearts, I believe that He regards my efforts and intentions as most important.

I can never do anything perfectly but I can keep trying.
I can try to do better today than I did yesterday.
I can pick myself up and brush myself off when I fall down or I can lay there and cry “poor me.”

I can try to do the right thing even when it’s killing me to do it.
And it never does kill me.

I can tell God I’m really sorry for all the bad I’ve ever done and continue to do – or not. My choice.

Either way, I’ll live till I die.

Then I’ll face eternity and the consequences of all my choices.

If I choose Jesus and ask forgiveness, all my sins are forgiven, never to be thought of again.

If I don’t choose Jesus, the consequences are too terrible to consider.

Knowing that, colors my thought processes these days and brings to mind the question, “What would Jesus do?”

I may forget this message from time to time but a little voice always comes to mind gently reminding me and encouraging me to choose His way.
He may give me consequences to my choices but never forces His way. It’s always my choice.

I’m really trying despite my many failures.

I certainly need all the prayers and help I can get to make the good choices, so please pray for me.

How about you?
What will you choose?

Please know that I’m praying for you too. 

None of us can make it on our own.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21

               The weatherman said we had a "supermoon" last week 
                       meaning that the moon seemed very large 
                    because it was closer to the earth than usual.
                    At first it was partially hidden behind clouds .
     Then I zoomed in and got a better view when the clouds passed. 
     Life can seem one way when seen through the eyes of the world.
                       It is amazing what it becomes 
                when seen through the lens of God's word.

Commentary:

Right now the world seems a mess.  Our politics are filled with turmoil and scandal.  
The massive wildfires in California are burning out of control.  
Shootings and terrorist attacks are almost commonplace.  
The news is very depressing.  
Is there anything to give us any semblance of hope for our future?

A little baby boy was born two centuries ago into a world that had great similarities to our present one.
He grew up in an extremely oppressed society with almost no rights.

He sacrificed everything He had to teach us and model for us how to live and to know that HOPE is absolutely not dead and buried but alive and vibrant today and for every day to come.

As we progress in the Christmas season, look for reasons for HOPE.  
See the good that is around you and complement those people to encourage them.

Spread little seeds of kindness each and every day.  Make someone else's day a little brighter.  

Know that each act of kindness and love that you do will make the Christmas star shine a little brighter and help crowd out the darkness that is filling our world.

Rest assured that your acts of kindness and love will point others to Jesus who is the one true HOPE for this broken world.

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

                   This icicle appeared on a power line in my backyard. 
                         I have no idea how it formed and hung on 
                              in such impossible circumstances  
                 Even nature gives us reason to HOPE for a brighter future.

May God bless you 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 December 23, 2017.  

                   I will close with a beautiful sunset. 
                    May you always have HOPE for bright tomorrows!     

Your Eyes Must Gush Rivers of Grief, Lord.

                Does the color and JOY drain from Your loving eyes, Lord,
                  when you see the way we brutalize each other?

There is so much violence in the news.
So many people have been injured and killed.

Even children!

You made us because You love us
   and want us to spend eternity with You.

We have lost our way.

So many do not know You and even deny You.
So many do terrible things in Your name.

It must break Your loving heart.

It breaks mine.

As much as my tears flow,
   Your eyes must gush rivers of grief.

                            When we turn to Jesus and His way,
               there is light, life, peace and JOY shining through the darkness.

             

                  Out of His tears come rivers of life and beauty.        
                   Jesus is making all things beautiful in their time.

Has it always been this way?
History has not been pretty.
We have always brutalized each other.
Your Precious Son, Jesus,
   came at a terrible point in history
   when life for Your people was at its darkest.

He taught a different way then,
I know His message is still vital and relevant today.

Please guide us, guide me to do whatever we can
   to spread Your word, Your message of love.

Please help us to sow the seeds of love, of tolerance,    of forgiveness, of peace
   and of Your JOY that is never ending.

Please help us how to show others
   there is another way.

Your way

Help us to do our part to bring peace on earth
   so there are no more tears of grief,
   only tears of JOY.

                  Lord, please teach us to live Your way.  
        Help us do our part to bring light, color and Your JOY 
                   back into this dark, cold, cruel world.
              Please teach us to love as You have loved us.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, 

holy and dearly loved, 

clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 

Bear with each other and forgive one another. 

If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you. 

And over all these virtues put on love, 

which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

 Colossians 3:12-14


Book Review:


Sons of Encouragement by Francine Rivers is a wonderful compilation of stories of 5 unsung heros of the Bible.  Aaron, the Priest; Caleb, the warrior: Jonathan, the prince; Amos, the prophet and Silas, the scribe whose lives are fleshed out in this set of 5 fictional bible stories.  Ms. Rivers took the actual people from the Bible wrote these men into life with human qualities and faults and ultimately with a desire to follow and serve the One True God. Ms Rives has researched the Bible and its times so carefully that her writing has the flavor of reading an unabridged biblical account of these men. 

YUMMY, YUMMY!

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

Thursday September 21, 2017.

Not to be missed!

Blessing:

May you be blessed, my friend in the knowledge that you have a loving father in heaven who is watching over you all the days of your life.  He sees what is happening in this world and will guide you over the rough patches and through the hard times that come to all of us.  He will take your hand and never let go- unless you tell Him to.  His love for you is never ending and He waits anxiously for you to join Him in heaven.  Lets all meet there together! 

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 9, 2017.

                              The road at our house is now paved.  

                            There is still finishing work to be done

            but the worst of the dust and very bumpy road are ended.