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Showing posts with label hearts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hearts. Show all posts

Friday, July 15, 2016

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




(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:




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.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

I Open My Heart


                       Taken at Bolt Castle  Alexandria Bay, NY


              When the darkest storms arise, 
              God is our strength and refuge.  
  We can always trust in Him and He will protect us.


I Open My Heart


As a little child opens his box of most precious treasures to share with his most trusted friend, I open my heart to You, Lord.  
I know You can see what is there.  
You see the most secret, closed places that no one else knows about.  
You know what is there, my most treasured memories, my most hurtful memories, my deepest thoughts, my greatest concerns, my fondest hopes, my true heart's desire.   
I open them to You, Lord.  I give You complete access.  
I trust You completely because I know how much You care, how You treasure this place in me.  
I am Your precious child.  
Your love overwhelms me and I weep.  
I am blessed beyond measure.  
You listen. 
You care so very deeply for me, for all Your children.  
Blessed be Your most holy name.


Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.   Psalm 62:8


    We can count on God to help us in ways our earthly parents only wish they were able to.



Near Keene Valley in the Adirondacks

God is our bridge over the turmoils of life.  
He stills the storms and calms the water.

God is more faithful than the hardiest tulip bulbs.

My heart delights at the sights and sounds of spring.  Even the lowly dandelion is welcome after the long winter and brown, bare ground of later winter/early spring.


Chipmunk


Woodchuck

Guinea Hens


I Pray for Their Souls

Every day I pray for my family, friends and many others for whom prayers have been requested.  

I consider it a blessing and a calling to do this.  


I pray for health, for provision and that needs be met.  


Most of all I pray that they all come to know and love God.   


I pray for their souls to spend eternity with Our Heavenly Father.  


So many do not see this as important.  


Some do not believe.  


This is very scary for me since I fully realize what will happen to them for eternity if they do not take this seriously.  


Hell is not to be taken lightly.  Eternity is a very long time.  


I asked God for words to pray and He gave me this. 


Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for my family, my friends and everyone else to desire You.  

Please awaken in them a hunger and thirst for You and Your Word.  


Please lead them to You.  


I pray that at the appropriate time, heaven is bursting at the seams with all these souls.  


Please direct me to do my part to accomplish this.  


Please pour the blood of Your Son, Jesus on all of us so we live as You want us to.  


I thank You in advance for all the wonderful things You will do.  


I ask this in Jesus most precious name.  Amen.

You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.  Psalm 65:2



Early Spring at Black Lake, NY


                   Brook near West Potsdam, NY


                      Other side of the brook

The Prayer of Jabez

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel,
"Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! 
Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."And God granted his request.
1 Chronicles 4:10



Product Details

I finished "And the Angels Were Silent" by Max Lucado this past week.  It addresses such questions as : What was Jesus' last week like? What did He accomplish? What was it like for the God/man to suffer the humiliation of being tortured to death by His creatures? Was He ever disappointed in His followers? How did He treat the one who betrayed the Son of God?  Did Satan win?  Is there hope for you and me?  What monumentous event occurred 3 days after the crucifixion?  What is the good news?


Product Details
  
I also finished this one.  It has short sections from many of his books.  I highly recommend both books which I borrowed from Knapps Station Community Church library.  There is a lot of great reading there that I am looking forward to.  Check it out.  There are lots of Christian books by many good authors.


While you are at it, check out my church.  I highly recommend it as well.  They feed the body and the soul.




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 Blessing

I pray for you, my friend, the blessings that God gave Jabez.

Most of all I pray that you open your heart to God's love and joy for all the days of your life. 
I pray that when your life ends, that you rest in His gentle arms for all of eternity.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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



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 5-19-2016  
  I have a retreat to attend that weekend 
  and will have to post early that week.
I hope to see you then.  

In the meantime, God's blessings on you, my friend.  Debbie



        One of my cats playing acrobat when he was a kitten