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.

You Are Precious in His Sight

                                   This is the 4-5 year old group 
                            at Knapps Station Vacation Bible School
                                         for 2018 Cave Quest 
                                                at snack time.
                                  Our children are precious to us.
                    Imagine how precious we all are to the Father
                            who deliberately chose each of us.


Can that be for real?

Am I special to the Creator of all that is?
Am I worthy?
Am I important?

There have been many times in my life when I absolutely did not feel special or important and certainly not worthy.

I have made so many mistakes, done so many things that I would rather not think about today. Things that I truly regret.

And yet He loves me.

He plucked me out of where I was and placed me firmly in His presence. He has always watched over me and protected me. I can look back now and see His hand in my life, guiding me, nudging me away from the bad and toward the things He wanted me to experience. I always had a choice and can remember the gentle voice calling and encouraging me. Sometimes I listened and heeded the call, sometimes I didn’t. The times when I didn’t are times I now regret.

He never gave up on me even when I deserved it. I guess God never gets discouraged and never gives up on us. He keeps working on us because He loves us so much.

Way back before anything was created. Way back when only God and His incredible love existed, He thought about you and me and He chose us because He loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him in paradise. He knew back then all the mistakes and sins we would commit and still created us and still loves us. No matter what we do or don’t do, He never stops loving us.

Because only perfection can go to Paradise and we can never be that good, God sent His beloved Only Son to live and to die for our sins. He paid the price so imperfect you and me can spend eternity with Him in Paradise. He loves us that much. We truly are precious in His sight.

However, we can only go to Paradise if we choose to go. We must choose God and tell Him we are sorry for what we have done wrong. We cannot earn this privilege. God freely gives it to all who choose Him.

Regardless of your choice, you are precious in His sight but only those who choose Him get to spend eternity with Him.

I hope to see you there someday. 

Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.  Isaiah 43:4

                                This is most of the group.  
                There were over 70 children and over 50 volunteers
          who participated in the fun learning about and growing in Jesus
                at Cave Quest, the Vacation Bible School 2018
                     at Knapps Station Community Church.

Commentary:  We are going through a very hot spell where the temperatures reached the high 80's and low 90's and it has been very uncomfortable.  We can get relief by using fans or air conditioning.  Cool drinks and cool foods also help.  A cool breeze and shade give some relief. 

What would it be like if there were no relief?  No breeze, no fan, no air conditioning.  Nothing cool to eat or drink and there never would be.  What if the temperature got into the 300s or more and there was never any kind of relief and it went on forever and ever.  You never passed out, you never died.  You just suffered unimaginable agony for eternity.  

Did you just imagine hell?

Would you willingly choose that?

You would if you didn't choose Jesus. 

Think about it!

When you die, there are only 2 places to go and I know where I want to spend eternity.  

How about you? 

Some of our older kids

            This is most of the group who performed a puppet show 
              at the beginning and end of each day of VBS.
                          I am the one on the far left.
                            I really enjoy doing this.

       This is Miner Marlene and Tad who helped the kids learn about Jesus.

                                              Learning about Jesus.

                              Some of the 2-3 year old group.

All VBS photos taken by Beth Shanty and Stephanie Johnson

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 on August 7, 2018.

        My grandson Mark having fun and learning about Jesus at VBS.