What Does God Look Like?

          When we look at the beauty and majesty of 

God's creation, we catch a glimpse of our Maker

A little boy asks "What does God look like?"  

We speculate and wonder. We don't really know what God looks like. 

I think love is God's presence on earth.  

When I gaze into my husband's eyes and see his love for me, I catch a glimpse of God.  

I see God when I see people helping each other.  When I see the smiles and hugs of people who care about each other, I see a glimmer of God. 

God's love really shines through when we do acts of kindness for strangers and especially when it is for people that we don't even like.  

I'm sure some of God's favorites are acts of kindness that no one else even knows about.   

God's love gleams in us when we care for each other and treat each other as we want to be treated

Because God is love, our acts of kindness and love make us like Him.  

And I think that's what God looks like.

 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  Titus 3:4-7 

      When we open our hearts to God and His mighty         love, our horizons grow in wonderful ways.

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

   
              We bloom with magnificent color 
          when we open our hearts to God's love

One Invitation at a Time

How did I come to know Christ?  How did I start on my walk with Him? 

I was asked the other day how I got to the point that I know Him so well that whether I live or die, it is for Him.  

If I live I get to do His work.  If I die, I spend eternity with Him in heaven.  I win either way. 

How did I get to that point? 

I don’t remember what I answered but I thought about the question and God pointed out that the answer is “by invitation.” 

God gives everyone, including you and me, invitations, to learn about Him.  

It might be a conversation.  It might be an article in a book.  It might be an actual invitation to visit a church or join a bible study.  

It could even be a thought He planted in our heads and then gave us the opportunity to follow it up and learn.

                              

                                        Lake George, NY

                  God says "Come to Me.  
             I'm waiting anxiously for you."
 

That is the key.  

If we follow it up, we learn. 

Then we start and progress on our walk with Him.  

Each opportunity or invitation that we accept leads to another. 

God does not force Himself on us. 

He invites, encourages and loves on everyone all the days of our lives.  He never stops inviting.  

He never stops encouraging each person, even the ones who reject Him, to join Him for eternity in paradise. 

We only have to accept and follow. 

If we allow, our hearts will lead us to Him.  

We were created that way. 

God is calling each and every one of His creation, one invitation at a time. 

Will you accept?

                                           Brook near West Potsdam, NY
            He leads me beside the still waters.

“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

How Well Do You Clean Up?

Have you ever been or seen anyone really dirty?

We don’t look very good.

However, with a good bath and clean clothes, we clean up pretty good.

If we equate dirt with sin, we see that dirt soils our body and clothes.  Sin soils our soul and that separates us from God.

However, God loves us so much that He saved us “while we were still sinners.”

He loves us so much that He longs for us even when we have dirty souls.

Just as we have to choose whether or not to take our bath, we also have to choose to accept Jesus gift.  

He already paid the price for us.  He Is calling “Come to me, my love for you is limitless.”

Jesus’s sacrifice can make our souls whiter than snow when we invite Him in and tell Him we are sorry for our sins.  

Then He washes away all our sins so we are pleasing to the Father.

However, He doesn’t do it unless we accept and invite Him.

But when we do, we clean up really well.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

                  Our Maker lights our way 
         and guides our footsteps with His Love 

If the Spirit moves you, please feel free to check out my church.  It has fed my soul greatly. 

Knapps Station Community Church

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

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

Book Review

 

In the past few weeks, I finished 2 books.  "In The Grip of Grace" by Max Lucado speaks about the power of grace and how God freely bestows this extraordinary blessing if we just allow Him to do so. I borrowed this from the library at Knapps Station Church.





The Prayer of Jabez" by Bruce Wilkinson talks about the power of a little known prayer from 1 Chronicles 4:10.  Join the author to learn how this remarkable prayer can release God's favor, power and protection. I was given this book when I went to the Closer Walk.  It's probably available at most book stores, the library or on line.  

I would recommend both books. 

                      Lake George, NY

                         Let the heavens rejoice 
      with the might and splendor of the Lord

Blessing

My friend, open your heart and soul to the Lord
Allow Him to fill you with His Love and JOY
And may this wondrous blessing be with you for all eternity 

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 7-2-2016

I hope to see you then.  

    A Canada Goose family at Black Lake, NY recently.

I Am Just a Speck, Lord

                               From the top of Gore Mountain in New York State

I am just a speck Lord when I contemplate Your might and majesty. 

You made all that exists and it is so immense.  You are so mighty.  

                    From the top of Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid, NY


You are creator without beginning or end.  You created the great and the small, and everything in between.  

Taken in this context, I am but a speck, a very tiny being who does not matter at all.  

                                Ausable Chasm near Plattsburgh, NY

The sun will shine whether I live or die.  The oceans will roar and the wind will blow regardless of how I feel, regardless of what happens to me.  

The planets will rotate around the sun.  

The trees will grow and creation will continue whether or not I am here, whether or not I am happy, whether or not I am well.  

                              Lake George NY


Even in the eyes of mankind, I'm no one special. 

You who created all that is, do care about me.  

I am so insignificant and yet You care so much.  
I matter to You, insignificant speck that I am.  

            From the top of Prospect Mountain in Lake George, NY


You created me and You love me.  

You know me for what I am with all my problems, with all my shortcomings, with all my failures and sins.  

I cry when I realize that You sent Your precious Son to live and to die for me, so little insignificant speck that I am, can spend eternity with You.  

Blessed be Your holy name. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

 Little Birdie

Little birdie on the branch, sings a pretty song
I hear him in the morning, I hear him all day long

He seems to sing to only me as I go about my days
He has a pretty message and this is what he says

"I'm happy to be home now, the winter was too long
I sing because I'm happy, I'm singing you my song

I'm singing to my babies, who soon will see the world
I'm singing to the flowers whose petals will unfurl

I sing to bring the breezes, 
   to warm the cold, cold nights
I sing to bring the summer 
   and scare off winter's bites

I sing to bring the peepers, I love their froggy song
I sing to bring the insects who feed me all day long

I sing to make you happy, I know I make you glad
I see it in your smile, I do not want you sad

I sing because I have to, I'm made to sing my song
I sing because my Maker loves to sing along"

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.  Psalm 100:5

If the Spirit moves you, please feel free to check out my church.  It has fed my soul greatly. 

Knapps Station Community Church

Also feel free to check out this great upcoming dinner at my church:

Knapp's Station Community Church 
Annual Strawberry Shortcake Dinner
Thursday- June 16th
Take outs start at 4:30 pm --Call ahead at 244-3159 or 212-9771
Dinner in Dining Hall starts at 5 pm.
Menu : Pork Loin, Salt Potatoes, Peas & Carrots, Applesauce, Rolls & Strawberry Shortcake 
Price: $8.00 - ages 13 and up
$4.00 -5 to 12
Over 90 and under 5 are FREE

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

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

Two weeks ago,I attended the Closer Walk.  It's a Christian retreat. If you ever get a chance to attend, you really should go.  You can click on Knapps Station Community Church and go to Links to get the link for the Closer Walk website. 

It is an incredible weekend of joy, love and fellowship with others and with God.  

It is not to be missed. 

The love that I experienced was absolutely overwhelming.  

As incredible as the experience has been, this outpouring of love is only a tiny glimpse of the love God has for all of us.  

Give Him a chance.

He never disappoints.

Search my heart, Lord.

Make me Yours.

Find my sins, even the ones hidden from me.

Forgive me.

Refine me.

Teach me Your ways.

Love me.

Give me Your JOY.

Make me Your's forever.

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

Psalm 90:8

Lord, You have opened the wellspring of my soul.

You have filled it to the brim with Your love.

Your blessings are overwhelming.

Blessed be Your most holy name. 

Blessing

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

                                            A Mallard  duck family at Black Lake, NY 

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 6-18-2016

I hope to see you then.  

Will You Bloom for Eternity?

Our souls bloom with magnificent color 
when we walk with God.



Will You Bloom for Eternity?

The earth is vibrant with the new life of Spring. 

Trees sport newly minted leaves creating a glorious canopy of fresh green, a veil contrasting against their almost black trunks, courtesy of the recent rain.  

My crab apple tree tinted pink almost before it turned green.  

Tulips and paper whites have started opening their colorful heads. 

The fields are blanketed newly green with yellow dandelion coverlets. 

It seems like only yesterday that everything was brown and now it’s vibrant and alive.  

I found an empty robin egg shell under a tree.  What a spectacular color it is!  Soon I will hear the peeping of the babies.  

Spring’s renewal is one of life’s great joys.

 

   

As much as we can enjoy the new life of Spring, Our Heavenly Father must enjoy our new life when we start and progress on our walk with Him.  

How He must delight when we discover the joy of His word. 

How proud He must be when our behavior reflects what Jesus taught us.  

How His eyes of love must mist-over when we treat others as we want to be treated.  

And how His heart must burst at the seams when we let Him know and then live a life of God first.  

His hands of love and joy are reaching out to guide us, to mold us into His children who will bloom with Him for eternity - if we let Him.  

Will you bloom for eternity?

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17

My husband, Tim and I rode from home to Saranac Lake and took many of these pictures that day.  It was a hazy day which made the mountains in the background appear blue.  The trees in the Adirondacks were slower turning green than those at home.  

Beside the roaring brooks and the still waters of life, our Loving Father is with us always.

I Am Worthy Lord

I am worthy Lord to be your daughter.  

Not by anything I did or ever can do but by Your love for me.  

You loved me so much that You created me.  

I am Your royal daughter, Your child.  

You love me so much that You sent Your Precious Son to live and to die for my sins, so I could join You in heaven for eternity.  

You knew that I could never make it on my own.  

And You knew that You wanted me to be with You so You created this plan.  

You are so wonderful.  

You are faithfulness from forever to forever.  

You are the Alpha and the Omega.  

You are the mightiest of all Kings.  

You are the ruler of all that exists.  

And You love me.

I am blessed beyond measure.  

It is only because of this incredible love that I am worthy.  

Blessed be Your most holy name.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. Ephesians 1:4-8

 Just for You 

or How to Write Your Own Prayers

A friend suggested that it would be good if I taught others to write prayers the way I do.  I’ve never tried to teach this before so please bear with me.

 

When you really care about something, when your heart is hurting really badly, that’s the time to write.  

When you are crying about something, when you are very passionate, that’s the time to start writing - and praying. 

Start out praising God.  Tell Him that you know only He can help you because He is your Loving Father. 

After you praise Him, tell Him your heart’s desire.  Is 

it a troubled child headed for serious trouble?  Is it a broken marriage? Is it a serious illness?  

The list goes on and on.  You know what is in your heart.  Just call out to your Father.  He is so faithful and always ready to listen.  He really wants to help. 

If you cry and I have so many times, go ahead.  Your Father will comfort you if you let Him.

The first time I called out to God, I was about 8 years old and was being bullied very badly on the playground.  I cried “God if there is a God, please help me.”  And He did.  He sent a little boy to help me.  I never got bullied again.  I still vividly remember it and I still tear up when it comes to mind. 

Thank Him in advance for His mercy, His love, His grace and His outpouring of joy.  Yes, joy.  With God comes great joy.  Thank Him for all He will do for you.

Ask Him to pour the blood of Jesus on your request.  There is infinite power in the blood.  It’s amazing stuff. 

Ask God to grant your request in the name of His precious son Jesus.  Jesus is God’s only son and is so precious to Him.

When you pray, use your own words.  He really wants to hear what is in your heart.  You and your words are so important to Him.

Then wait patiently on the Lord.  He does all things in His time, His way and His will.  

Sometimes He answers right away as He did when I was little and called out to Him.  

Sometimes, He answers very slowly.  The waiting can be heart wrenching.  I know, I’ve been there.  

Sometimes He even says “No.”  Only He knows why.  

We have to remember He is our loving Father who always has our best interest at heart even when it isn’t what we want. 

Listen for His still, small voice speaking to you.  It often comes from unexpected sources.  It might be a book, a movie, someone talking.  God really does work in mysterious ways.  

His answer might be to tell you what you need to do to solve the problem.  I’ve been there too.  There is an endless list of possibilities.  

Just be open and hang on for the glorious ride that is your walk with Jesus.

Practice, practice, practice.  Practice writing   Practice praying.  Practice makes perfect.  I’m still practicing and will continue to practice and learn till I go home to my Maker.

If you write anything you’d like to share, please add it to my comments or send to my email debbieamcewen@gmail.com.  I would love to hear from you.  Please remember that if you put something in comments it will be visible to anyone who reads the blog.  

I will pray for you all that you are successful with your praying and your writing.

When God answers your prayer, write it down.  Write down the request, the date, the answer and how it happened.  Keep a journal of this to document how faithful God is.  It’s great to look back on it when you are having a difficult time.  It will cheer you up and keep you on the right track and it gives all glory to the One who deserves it.

May God bless you greatly.  

And He definitely will if you just give Him a chance. 

He died for that chance.  
Jesus died on the cross - just for you!

This is basically the format of the Lord’s Prayer that 

Jesus taught us.

To summarize:
      1.  Praise God
      2. Tell Him what you are praying for
      3.  Thank Him in advance what all the wonderful things He will do for you
      4.  Ask Him to pour the blood of Jesus on your request
      5.  Ask for your request in the name of Jesus
      6.  Wait patiently for God to answer your prayers.

 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,..........

Matthew 6:6-13

When you quiet your voice and your spirit in the presence of nature, you just might hear the still, small voice of the Lord speaking to you, telling you that He is the mighty Creator and you are His beloved creation.  

I love my Johnny Jump Ups and violets.

If the Spirit moves you, please feel free to check out my church.  It has fed my soul greatly.

Knapps Station Community Church

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

I finished another book this week.  I continue to be amazed by the extent of God's love for me.  The more I read, the more I feel loved and blessed.  This is another book by Max Lucado that I borrowed from the Knapps Station Church library.  



I am going on a "Closer Walk" retreat this coming weekend in Geneva, NY.  I hear it's wonderful and can hardly wait.  

There was a Royal Daughters Conference May 6 and 7 at Knapps Station Church.  It was amazing.  It blessed me greatly.  It opened my eyes to new levels in my walk with Jesus.  The poem "I Am Worthy, Lord" (above in this post) was one of my blessings. 


I am so blessed and honored that you share your time so I can share the words that God has given

me.  Thank you!

Today's Blessing

May your problems be few

May your blessings be many

And may the joy of God's love spring forth in your life    and never leave you

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 6-4-2016  
I hope to see you then.  

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

                                    One of my orchids


I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
      Psalm 139:14