Are You Ever Overwhelmed?

              Do you ever feel like you are at the end of your rope
                           and hanging on for dear life ?

Do you ever feel like you have too many obligations?

No time for yourself?

Thoughts swirling in your head?

Do you ever feel like there's just too much to do?

Do you ever have people coming at you from all directions with requests and demands?

Do you ever feel like there just isn’t enough of you to go around?

Do you ever feel totally depleted, empty, like there is nothing left of you and your essence?

Is that how Jesus felt when the crowds followed him?

Pleading, yelling, demanding, requiring, “heal me!” “help me!” “save me!” “speak to me!” “give me what you’ve got, all you’ve got!” “I’m needy” “feed me” “It’s all about me!”

Did anyone have a care if Jesus ate, if he slept, if he had any comfort, any peace?

Did He complain?

Did He send the crowds away?
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:35-36

Or send the children away?

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14 


Was He ever sick?

Was Jesus ever exhausted?

Did He ever have a bad day and just not feel like “doing all that?”

Although fully God, Jesus was fully human so He must have felt that way at times.

The time He spent in prayer with His Father kept Him going.

He knew He was opening the door, paving the way for all of us to spend eternity with Him and His Father.

He knew He was paying a terrible price to atone for all the sins of humanity.

When Jesus was overwhelmed, He thought about the end game and how precious we are to Him.

When you feel overwhelmed, turn to Him, reach out to Him and He will give you eternal peace and never-ending JOY!

                              This was my yard just a month ago.

                        This is my yard today.  The snow is gone.  
                                 New growth is everywhere.  
                  I have heard the peepers and Spring is here.  Yeah!!
          When I turn to God, He takes away the cold in my heart and soul. 
                                   He gives me new growth.  
                          He warms me and makes me come alive.  
                    I may still need a lot of cleaning up like my yard
                              but He puts me on the right path. 
                            And He puts JOY in my heart and soul!

Blessing:

My friend:  I wish you the peace of knowing that when you are troubled, when your life is in turmoil, that our Brother and Savior, Jesus is only a heartbeat away, waiting anxiously for you to call out.  When you do, He always answers.

All photos taken by Debbie unless otherwise noted.

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 May 19, 2018.

              2 pictures of a beautiful sunset this past Monday night.
             No matter how bleak and foreboding your life may seem,
                   God can take you and your life and make you
                                 absolutely beautiful! 

Is Satan Out to Get You?

Satan tries his best to put barriers between us and our Father.
He finds ways to tempt us away
            from the light and love our souls crave.
Satan's way leads to everlasting sorrow and the pit of fire for eternity.
Only God can really satisfy our souls and give us true JOY and peace.
God, Jesus is the everlasting light that fills and fulfills all our needs.

Is Satan our to get you?
You can count on it.

He knows he’s going to spend eternity in the pit of fire and wants to drag every one of us along.

Misery loves company and he wants all the company he can get.

How does he do it?

Any way he can, and he has thousands of years of experience.

He knows us better than we know ourselves.

He knows all our weaknesses and how to tempt us.

The closer we get to God; the harder Satan works on us.

He knows every crack in our armor and is so skilled at working his way in. And he never gives up.

Sounds hopeless doesn’t it?

Sounds hopeless but it ABSOLUTELY is not.

I’ve learned that when I fall, when I give in to temptation and have no idea of how to get myself out of the mess that I got myself into, I pray.

And it really works. God listens. He’s waiting anxiously for us to ask and then He works His miracles.

And miracles they truly are!

He finds solutions where none existed.

It is not an instant fix.

God, Jesus, works in His time. It must be His will and His way, not ours.

Know that God works all things for our good, to benefit us and not to harm us.

And know that His love for us is limitless.

Just know that when times are at their worst. When you are at your worst. God is just a breath away, waiting anxiously for you to call. It can be out loud or just in your heart and head. He will hear and answer.

Jesus beat Satan long ago when He died for our sins and rose from the dead, defeating death itself.

Satan knows he is defeated.

Now you know it too.

No matter how bad the situation is, turn to Jesus and He will give you peace. You may still have to deal with the consequences of your actions.

But with Jesus help, YOU WIN in the long run.

You win extraordinary peace in this life.

And you win eternal life and paradise.

Satan is out to get you and me but when we turn to God, Satan loses!

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 2 Kings 6:16

                               Your life can be in a shambles.

                                         When you turn to your Father, 

                       He leads on the right path through all the problems
                                          that life sends your way. 

Be blessed, my friend in the knowledge that you have a Loving Father who will always be there for you, no matter what you have done or should have done.  When you turn to Him and ask for help, when you tell Him you are sorry for your sins, He welcomes you with open arms. 

All photos taken by Debbie unless otherwise noted.

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 May 5, 2018.

               Hopefully we are done with the snow for another year.
          No matter how bleak our circumstances, there is hope on the horizon.
             With God at our side, tomorrow will be a brighter and better day.

More Than I Deserve

On 11 mile road between Santa Clara, NY and turn off to Malone, NY.

                    Are you lost in the wilderness of life?

  If you look to Jesus, He will put a bridge over your troubled waters.

          He will give peace to your soul, if you only turn to Him.

               He gives us all so much more than we deserve.

What do I deserve?
What do you deserve?

Do we deserve all the circumstances of our birth?
Did we deserve to be born when and where we were born?

Did you ever look at pictures of the uber rich wonder what they did to deserve all they have? I have at times and wished for a little of what they have.

I have also seen pictures of people in Third World countries where so many have to struggle for the things that I take for granted like clean drinking water or food, let alone medical care or a roof over their heads.
I feel pretty rich compared to those struggling people.

Do I deserve all that God gave me?

Do I deserve enough to eat, clean water and so on let alone the love and forgiveness that He hands out freely?

Did I do anything to earn His graciousness?
Did I earn His death on the cross to pay for my sins so I can spend eternity with Him in Paradise?

There is absolutely no way I could ever do enough or be good enough, righteous enough, to earn the fact that God in the person of His Son, suffered and died on the cross to pay my way to Paradise for eternity.

If I got what I truly deserve, I would be headed to the pit of fire for eternity.

I don’t deserve that He forgives me every time I ask for forgiveness for all the things I do wrong.

I have a Loving Father who has never given up on me and loves me so much that He gives me so much more than I deserve.

He loves you the same. 

Will you accept His love? 

He’s waiting patiently just for you.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
   slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
  nor will he harbor his anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
  or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
  so great is his love for those who fear him;
  as far as the east is from the west,
  so far has he removed our transgressions       from us
Psalm 103:8-12

                    Tim took this sunrise picture a couple of days ago.
                   Each day is a new chance to start over and do better.
        God always gives us second chances right up to the end of our life.
                             He knows we will make mistakes
                      He just asks that we keep trying to do better
                                 ask for forgiveness for our sins
                                      and turn to Him for help.

All photos taken by Debbie unless otherwise noted.

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 April 21 2018.

            This is the first Bald Eagle that I have ever seen in the wild.

It was exciting when Tim spotted the eagle and his mate and got pictures.

                   Photos were shot also on the 11 Mile Road.

                    A dead deer provides a meal for the birds.

         Many times God uses what we consider to be misfortune

                   to give us opportunities to better ourselves.

                                        Female Bald Eagle.

                             Her feathers look all messed up.

                       Did she loose the fight for the deer meat?

What Was Jesus Thinking?

                         The sun descends in glorious colors.
           The clouds reflect the sunlight adding beauty to the scene.
                            We become incredibly beautiful
                        when we reflect the majesty of God.
                            Jesus death and resurrection
                           opened the door to enable us
                to reflect that incredible beauty for all eternity.

What was Jesus thinking when He rode the donkey into Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven.” (Matthew 21:9) knowing that a few days later the same people would shout “Crucify him” when given the choice of freeing innocent Jesus or a criminal? Was His heart heavy?

What was Jesus thinking when He taught His followers those last parables, those final lessons? (see Matthew 21:18 through Matthew 25)
Was He trying to make sure He had covered all the important points, so He could leave knowing He had prepared His followers for the enormous job ahead of them? Was He anxious? No. He knew how well they would spread His word and His Love?

What was Jesus thinking when He went to that Last Supper with His disciples? Did His heart ache knowing that both Peter and Judas would betray Him? Knowing that almost all His disciples who had pledged undying loyalty would run off leaving Him to suffer and die in unspeakable agony?

Did He also rejoice knowing that His words “This is my body and this is my blood” spoken over the bread and wine would be said by millions of followers for thousands of years as they, as we celebrate Jesus precious gift for us?

How did Jesus possibly manage going to Gethsemane? He knew His followers could not follow where He had to go. He said to His Father “Your will, not mine be done” knowing the agony that was to start shortly and last for many torturous hours. (Matthew 26:36-45)

What was Jesus thinking when His betrayer greeted Him with a kiss to identify Him for those who came to take Jesus to His horrible death? He knew ahead of time what was about to happen. Could I, could you have gone through it all? He was innocent, I am not. He knew He could call on God and His angels at any time to stop His death. He chose to continue knowing all those who would deny Him, refuse His love, sinning repeatedly. I could never have done what Jesus did. Imagine His love for us!

What was Jesus thinking when the soldiers pounded nails into His wrists and feet to nail Him to the cross after beating Him so badly that the skin was ripped off His back and His bones were showing, bleeding, His lifeblood oozing out onto the ground. The blood had dripped into His eyes from the crown of thorns forced on His head. He was beaten and bloody from head to toe. This was God in the person of His precious son who chose to accept this death, the punishment that we deserve for our sins. What did He say? Did He condemn? He said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

What was Jesus thinking as He died? Why did He do this? His actions say to each of us “I love you more than this life itself. I love you so much that I willingly accept the punishment that you deserve. I want you to spend eternity with me in paradise. Will you take my hand and follow Me? 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
 Matthew 11:28-30

What was Jesus thinking when He did all this? He was thinking how much He loves you and me and wants us with Him for eternity in Paradise. 

Will you accept?

Blessing:
Be blessed my friend, knowing that we do not have to pay for our sins, that Jesus did that for us - if we only accept.

All photos taken by Debbie unless otherwise noted.

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 April 7, 2018.

                                      Spring is bringing new life.
                                     Jesus' death and resurrection
                                  bring us new life, everlasting life.
                                  Will you accept His incredible gift?
                                Photo taken at West Stockholm, NY.

Truly Great Treasure

           In this life you will have to choose what is your heart's desire.
                   You will have to choose what is most important to you.
                   Only one desire can occupy the top place in your heart.
                                       What will you choose?

The more I learn about God, the more treasures I find.  

I’m like the archaeologist who finds an old coin and digs further to seek a greater prize.  As he continues to dig, he hopes to discover a great find.  

As I study God's word, I always discover great treasure.  

The greater my effort, the closer to God I become. When I listen closely, I hear His voice.  

As my relationship with God becomes closer, my happiness grows and my peace increases.  

When we surrender to God, He puts His mighty armor around us to protect us.  

Hardships still occur but they do not devastate to the degree that they did before, because God is in our core giving us His peace.  

He is always on our side, always guiding and loving us. 

This is truly great treasure.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.  Matthew 13:44

              Spring is hidden under all the snow we recently received.
Today is the first day that is not gray so I could get a picture of the snow covering.  It was beautiful in that it made all the earth clean and white.

Commentary:
I apologize for the lateness of this blog.
It's lateness is due to my bout with the flu.
I pray this flu missed all of you.
I was able to stay inside for the most part and did enjoy seeing the snow cover on the trees and brush, on the ground.
It's almost like a do over, a fresh start with Spring tagging closely behind it.
My flu gave me an opportunity to appreciate how good it feels when sickness leaves and I feel good again.
I've found that I never feel as well as I do after I've been sick and gotten well.
We will appreciate the good weather even more after the storm.
Is God telling us that we need to appreciate Him and all He does when He allows us to have hardships and then bring us through those hardships?
I hope to learn that lesson without having to live through many more hardships.

Blessings on you my friend and may all the winter woes escape you and yours.

All photos taken by Debbie unless otherwise noted.

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 March 24, 2018.

               I'll end with one of God's beautiful sunsets.

                 It seems to be echoing God's words

         Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.

            This is my treasure.  I share it with you, friend.

Springtime Battles

Muddy, muddy, gush, gush
As my feet go push, push
Across the sift and wet, wet ground

Mud tries hard to suck me down
Tries to take my shoes and keep me
But I stand firm and keep on going
Shoes stay on but mud is showing
Remnants of my springtime battle
With that soft and gushy ground

Snow in places still is showing
As my feet do keep on going
Across the muddy, gushy ground

My destination soon I'm reaching
As my feet continue breaching
Springtime muddy, wet, wet ground

I look back and see my journey
Footprints rapidly are learning
Power of the soft and gushy ground

How amazing is the power
Of the mud that makes us cower
When we wage our springtime battles
With the soft and muddy ground.

Commentary:

I wrote this poem the year I broke my leg.  I was getting the garbage can out by the road and struggling with a "boot" cast one one foot and a sneaker on the other.  The weather and the muddy ground was like it is right now and the words came to me as I got to my house.

When I read it today, it seems almost a parallel for the spiritual battles that we wage.  The mud is the sin that tries to bog us down.  It tries to suck us in the ways of the world.  It tries to take our decency and our humanity from us. However, if we keep on trying and keep our eye on our goal, which is our home for eternity, we definitely can prevail.  Most of the time, we need a helping hand along the way and our Father will provide that - if we only accept.

  

Our shoes and feet, our souls get dirty along the way.  Just as we can wash off the mud, our Father can wash away the sin.

We win in the end, just as long as we don't give up.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."  John 16:33

                             This is the little brook in springtime. 
                  It is located between my house and West Potsdam, NY
            I really enjoy when the grass turns green and new life returns.

                             I even look forward to the dandelions.

                                   And the crab apple blossoms.
                    How God must rejoice when new life blooms in us.

Blessing:
May you be greatly blessed, my friend with the new life that God is about to sow in your life.
May you burst forth with the beauty of His love, grace and JOY.
Be blessed!

Till I Go Home

Park in Canton, NY last fall.

God gives us so many ways to spend our days,
so many opportunities to enjoy ourselves.

What should we choose?

                 

My days are numbered, Lord.
What would You have me do with these days?

What is Your will?
Will I look back from Eternity 

    and regret what I did not do?
Or regret the ways I wasted my time?

Please guide me, Father
to make my time productive and fruitful
until the day I go home to You.
     Amen

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

 Psalm 90:12

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
  a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
  a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
  a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones
     and a time to gather them,
  a time to embrace
     and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
  a time to keep and a time to throw away
a time to tear and a time to mend,
  a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
  a time for war and a time for peace.

 What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.  He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

             

              This frozen river shines with the reflected beauty of the sun.
                       You make all things beautiful in their time, Lord.
                          Please make me beautiful in your eyes.
                    Teach me to live my days for Your honor and glory.
                        Help me to follow Your commandments 
                                         to love You first and best
                             and then to love my neighbor as myself.

Blessing

May you be blessed, my friend with the joy

    of living for the Lord.

May you find peace and fulfillment

    in doing His work all the days of your life.

May you feel His love and grace in your soul
And may you find final rest in the arms 

    of your Loving Father.

                                Sunset on Lake Colby
        seen from my husband's hospital room in November, 2017.

                    When the sun sets on your days, my friend,

                I pray you see the Son coming to take you home.

                       Enjoy the pleasures that God Lord gives you

                         let Him help you through the hard times

                            and make your days count for Him.

All photos taken by Debbie unless otherwise noted.

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 next year on February 24, 2018.

                         Our last "super moon" (1-30-2018).
                            I couldn't see the red tints that were expected
                                  but it was big and it was beautiful
                                       as is all of God's creation.