God's Eyes of Love

             Just as Sunflowers can only bloom 
                     in sunlight,
               our souls can only bloom                        
          when we choose the "Son" light.

I look in the mirror
and see an old woman.
Where did all the wrinkles come from?

Where did my young self go?
Even my eyes look old.

People look at me differently
than when I was young.

In my heart of hearts,
I know that God looks past my imperfections,
past my wrinkles,
past the parts that don't work so well anymore. 

He sees me through His eyes of love.

When He saved me, I became a new creation,
His creation. 

I am now God's child
and regardless of my age and defects,
I know I am perfect in His sight,
when He looks at me
through His eyes of love.

Tim took this picture of me near a waterfall
at South Colton, NY

Indeed, the LORD watches those who fear him; those who trust in his gracious love.
Psalm 33:18

   
      Oswegatchie River near Black Lake, NY

            Notice the great beauty
                that our Loving Maker
               provides for our benefit. 

    
     The field behind my house near Potsdam, NY

Changes

The Canadian geese honk overhead
as they fly home for winter
Their mournful song heralds the end of summer

Flowers are almost gone by
Grass will soon stop growing
Shadows are longer
and greens cease to be fresh and new

    
       Mature soy field with corn stalks
            now that Fall is upon us.


The days are rapidly shortening
I’m glad to have the end of the oppressive heat
But I cringe to think of the upcoming cold and snow

I love the beauty of winter
– from inside my warm house

I loved to play in the snow when I was little

Now my bones resist the cold

My joints creak and stiffen from the bitter chill

I’m looking forward
to the brilliant color change of Fall

I appreciate the cooler nights
that bring better sleeping weather

I’m hurrying to finish the outside work for the year

   My flowering crab apple tree is very heavy laden with fruit this year.                   Some say that means a hard winter.  What do you think?

The shed and the deck need staining -
The outside flower pots and decorations will soon need to be put away for their long winter’s nap

Sweater and jacket weather is now upon us

It’s almost time to close up the house
and fasten the windows firmly shut
to keep out winter’s blasts

Part of me doesn’t want to give up
the freedom and beauty of summer

               Wild flowers in the field behind my house

Part of me is ready for the changes

Regardless of my preference,
Fall is here and time marches on

My life is like that

  God promises that we too will bloom greatly -
      we only have to cooperate with Him
      and His great love for us.
     

So many changes

Each one brings new circumstances
-some that I like and some I would rather skip

I am facing the Fall of my life
How many seasons I have left is unknown
My body has changed, my life has changed

From child to young woman, to middle age

Am I now a senior?

I have learned to “Hang on for the ride”
That life and our Maker gives us

To enjoy the beauty and joy of each day,

  There is no end to the beauty that God
      puts before us - out of His great love
             for each and every one of us.

To look for and find the positives
that each change brings
and to praise the Maker for His providence

To find a way to deal with the negatives
- with God’s help

And to look forward to tomorrow

   God created the heavens and the earth and He created you out of nothing but His great love.

For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans for welfare
and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

God Loves His Rascals

You know the ones I mean

They don't behave perfectly

They make lots of mistakes

They sin - sometimes the "big" ones
They keep falling and failing

The list goes on and on
The list of human imperfections is endless

Fortunately, God's love and grace are also endless

No matter who we are
No matter what our problems or imperfections are
No matter how chronic, how hopeless our lives
and problems seem

There is God

He never gives up on us - even if we give up

For Him, nothing is impossible

And He dearly loves all his rascals. 

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

God sees the good and the beauty in each of us.  Look at how lovingly He created His wildflowers.

Knapps Station Community Church

This is my church.  I have been fed spiritually here as I never had before.

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

Our Chicken Pie dinner was a great success. The food was delicious and the fellowship was wonderful. If you missed it, please consider enjoying it next September.

Knapps Station Church is a great place to feed your soul with the "good stuff" from the Bible.

My church is always providing new bible studies. We have begun one on what it really means to be a Christian.
The class takes place every Sunday at 6:30 pm and runs 6 more weeks. It's not too late to start and find out what the word "disciple" really means.


Christian, It's Not What You Think

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

Amazing Grace to the Rescue  is a recent post that touched my heart.

Book Review

The Jesus I Never Knew

Phillip Yancey takes a serious look at the Jesus he found in the Gospels.  He explores Jesus as the passionate, dynamic, emotional and incredibly loving Son of God that we will find when we carefully read the Gospels and truly look at the One whose life inspired "the greatest story ever told!"  This book is one to be read slowly and savored in order to pick up the insights Philip Yancey learned from many decades of study.  

Audacious by Beth Moore

Do you have an "audacious" love of God?  Beth Moore, who is a dynamic teacher of Christian classes, takes on the challenge to lead women and everyone to learn to boldly love God who "audaciously" loves us and is longing for us to "audaciously" love Him in return.




Blessing

May you be blessed by the knowledge
   of God's great love for you
May you know that His love for you is limitless
May you realize in the very depth of your soul
   that Jesus was tortured to death 
   to pay for your sins (and mine too)
   because He loves you just that much
   and wants you to spend eternity with Him
And may you share the blessing 
   of that incredible love
   with everyone you meet

    Oswegatchie River near Black Lake, NY

Blessings for you,my friend for a wonderful week. 

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 10-8-2016

           One last picture of the moon.
It is truly amazing the love and attention to detail
   that God gives each of His creations.
    That includes you!!

Home for Eternity

        From the boat launch in Ogdensburg, NY over the St. Lawrence River,
                              the sunset was spectacular Monday night.
             Is this a glimpse of the glory
      that we will see when we face our Maker?
            I ask "Have I followed Him faithfully
      and will I get to enjoy this glory for eternity?
                      I can't earn heaven,
             it's always a free gift from God
              but am I accepting this gift?
      Am I sharing this "good news" with others?

Home for Eternity

When we walk with God,
He takes our hand and guides us along.

He walks with us all the days of our lives.
He helps us over the rough spots.

He rejoices in our happy times.

Sometimes we fall. 
When we do, we need to get up,
brush ourselves off and keep going.

                   An "innocent" vine grows up an electric pole.
         How long before the vine causes problems unless it is cleaned away?
       Sin and "innocent" habits can creep up on us and cause serious problems
                     unless we clean them away.

If we get dirty,
and we will from time to time
as we walk along life's path,
we must wash our hands
to remove the dirt and sin
that we can acquire. 

God never stops offering His hand
to help and guide us. 

However, the dirt and sin
that get on our hands,
gets between us and Him. 

They prevent the closeness
that He wants us to have. 

Jesus died for us,
so we can wash away our sins
with His blood. 

We only have to admit
what we did that was wrong
and tell Him we are sorry. 

Then our sins and dirt
are washed away, gone forever.

We regain our closeness with God. 

Each time we do this,
God smiles and hugs us. 

He is our loving father
who knows we will fall from time to time. 

He just asks that we keep getting up, washing off the sin that separates us from Him and keep going. 

Our Father
wants all His children home for eternity. 

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life. 1 John 2:24-25

                           Another beautiful sunset last week.
              Will you join Him for eternity?

                                Swamp near Lisbon, NY

                                 A swamp near Lisbon, NY
   Even swamps are decked out waiting for eternity.

                              At boat launch in Madrid, NY
The Good Shepherd leads me beside the still waters and restores my soul.

                    view from my kitchen window, my little piece of eternity

       Toys donated by the people of the area for needy children         

 My Brother's Keeper

Am I my brother's keeper?

Am I responsible for anyone besides myself,
 my family, my friends?

Who is my family?

Who are my friends?

Am I not a part of the family of man?

Did not the Father bestow upon me the gifts,
talents and blessings that I enjoy every day?

Did He not direct me to share those gifts,
talents and blessings with my brothers?

Did He not say, “That which you do the least
of your brothers, that you do unto Me?"

When I die and face God for my judgement,
how will I answer Him when He asks,
“Were you, your brother's keeper?

Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"  Genesis 4:9

             Handmade quilts donated for the Outreach Program 

               There are so many ways
     you can choose to be your "Brother's Keeper"
             

Thoughts for Today

Tomorrow Sept. 11th is the anniversary of one of the worst tragedies that our country has ever known.  It is the anniversary of 9/11 when our country was attacked by enemies of our very way of life. So many lives were lost both that day and in the aftermath with the search in the rubble and the exposure to toxic materials by the first respondents. Many heroes were made that day and in the days to come.  Our country has never been quite the same since.

We can respond and commemorate with hate, resentment and suspicion OR we can choose to follow Jesus" example when He was tortured to death on the cross.  Jesus is actually God Almighty, in the person of God's Son.  He had and has infinite power and control.  He could have done anything to those who hurt Him. He chose to forgive.  Jesus said "Father forgive them, they know not what they do."  

Can we at least choose kindness regardless of what others have or haven't done?  Can we set the Christian example to lead others to Christ?
They may not "deserve" to be forgiven and to receive our kindness BUT do we "deserve" all that God does for us?  I, for one, do not deserve all the love, grace, mercy and JOY that God constantly gives me.

Can we show why America is the very best of countries because of our love for our fellow man?

Ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" and try your very best to follow His example. 

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  Matthew 7:12


Book Review



C.S. Lewis - Mere Christianity

This is an interesting background piece on one of our foremost Christian authors.  He was brilliant and started out believing there is no God.  His incredible journey led to such a strong belief in God that he lost great academic honors because he wrote arguments supporting God.  He wrote the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and many others.



Outrageous Grace

This page turner reveals what real Christian love looks like amidst heart wrenching tragedy.  Grace Fabian and her husband were missionaries and bible translators in Papua New Guinea.  Her husband was murdered.  Read how she deals with this heart break and finds "outrageous grace" in the midst of anguish. 


Knapps Station Community Church

This is my church.  I have been fed spiritually here as I never had before.

(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.

Knapps Station Community Church
3035 County Route 47
Norwood, NY
will hold its Annual Chicken Pie Supper
On September 22, 2016 in the church dining hall 
starting at 5 pm.
Menu:  
Homemade chicken pie with mashed potatoes and gravy, squash, green beans, rolls, with apple crisp or pumpkin pie for dessert.
Prices for a dinner:  $8.00 for adults, $4.00 for children, those under 5 or over 90 are free.
Takeouts are available starting at 4:30 pm
Whole chicken pies are available for $10.00 each
if pre-ordered by September 16.
Call  244-3159 or 212-9771 to pre-order or if questions.

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

Importunity is Toil and Travail  is one of her recent blog posts and is very inspiring.

                             A small farm near Lisbon, NY.
                       Many families in Northern New York
            used to support themselves by operating small family farms.
                                Maybe this one still does.


The Blessing

May you be blessed with a close relationship
   with our Loving Maker
May you come to know and love Him
   all the days of your life
May you learn the great JOY that comes

   from putting Him first in your life
   and treating others as you want to be treated
Your rewards will be heavenly

            I just had to add another shot of that magnificent sunset.

Blessings for you,my friend for a wonderful week. 

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 9-24-2016

         Fungi growing on a tree.  I thought they were interesting.
                        Tim spotted them as we drove by.

Are You Contagious?

                                                 
                    God's love is so amazing!
             He gives us incredible gifts of love.
        He only asks that we love and honor Him
            and treat each other as He treats us.

We need to become contagious

We need to model Jesus’ teachings and pray for each other at all times.

Pray, pray, pray.
Pray for healing. 
Pray for safety. 
Pray for success. 
Pray for revival. 
Pray for each other’s souls.
Pray for all our needs. 

Make your whole life a prayer.

You don’t know how?  

If you ask for direction,
God will show you and help you

.

Why do we need to do all this, you ask?  

Have your read the newspapers
or watched the news lately?  

Does the news sound positive and promising?  

Not by a long shot.  

So much needs to change
and it needs to start with each of us
doing every little thing we can to change our world.  

Be nice when nice isn’t called for. 
Show love when you are not treated lovingly.  

Smile when you see frowns. 
Smiles are contagious too.    

Ask God to direct you
and He’ll let you know what you can do to help.  

Then do whatever He directs you to.

You think I’m crazy to suggest this?  

Maybe I am
but the alternative of doing nothing or going along with the status quo is crazier.  

Please join me in my crazy prayers and say:
Help us Lord, we are floundering. 

Change us. 
Soften our hearts to love more.  

Please forgive our sins and help us to not sin again.

Help us to love You first and to love each other as we love ourselves.
  Amen.

Imagine a world where this behavior
became contagious and spread everywhere.  

Let’s become contagious together for the Lord.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12

                                    Top of Gore Mountain in New York State
             When our path becomes too rocky
                  and difficult to continue,
             God holds out His loving hand.
      We need to do the same for each other.

Always Forgive         

We cannot hate as others hate
We must love as the Lord has loved us
In our times of great sorrow
And they will come
We must turn to God for guidance
We must lay our troubles at His feet
No matter how minor, how severe
and everything in between
We must lay our problems at Jesus' feet, at the cross
He will pick up our burdens and carry them for us
He will wipe our tears
He will hug and comfort us
Usually in ways that are a mystery to everyone except Him
If anyone had reason to hate, it was Jesus
When he was ridiculed, beaten, scorned, betrayed, crowned with thorns, lied about and tortured to death
He said "Father, forgive them,
they don't know what they are doing."
He forgave them and He forgives us
Therefore we must also forgive, no matter what.
God will find a way for us, if we only turn to Him.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32

Treat each other as you would want to be treated.

We Could Move Mountains

O God, I anguish for the victims
of all the turmoil in the world

I hurt for all the murdered, all the tortured,
all the harmed souls

I hurt for all the people who are hurting so badly
that they feel they must harm others.

I cry for the people in the war torn areas,
for the little children
who will never know the security, the food,
the safety, the shelter, the medical care
and the parental love that I always took for granted

I weep for the families of the victims
of senseless shootings,
for the children who will never see adulthood.

My heart aches for all the parents
who have to bury their children. 
No parent should ever outlive his child.

I pray for the victims and the perpetrators
of all the heinous crimes

I wish I could do something
to prevent more senseless tragedy.

Then I pray. 
I pray to God
that for just one moment
that He would open the hearts of everyone
to Him and His love.  

You say what good would that do?  

Have you ever had a flu virus hit you?  It only took a moment to infect you.  Have you ever had a computer virus
hit your computer?  It only took a moment
to incapacitate your computer.  

Jesus is so powerful
that if everyone opened their hearts to Him
for just one moment, imagine what could happen.

With God, all things are possible
and if we would all pray
for just one moment every day
"Jesus, for just this one moment, please open the hearts of everyone to your love."  

With Jesus' mighty help, we could move mountains.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.  Matthew 5:44

                    After Spring flood at Black Lake, NY
         When the floods of life leave debris
      we all need to pitch in and help each other.

My Thoughts for Today

I was figuring when my next blog post will be and realized that it will publish just before the anniversary of 9/11.  

As Franklin D. Roosevelt said about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 9/11 will go down in history as a day of infamy.

  

There is so much hate in this world.
In my little way I want to spread God's love.
He created all that exists out of His great love.

I ask everyone to stop and think about this.
I ask everyone who reads this to do something to spread a little love, a little kindness.

Terrible things are happening.
There were major earthquakes this past week in Italy and Myanmar.

There have been so many bombings in so many areas.

There are terrible floods,droughts, famines, deadly diseases and forest fires.

Are we approaching the End of Days?

I have no idea but I do know God is speaking to us and we need to listen.

We as a race cannot continue to ignore God and others thinking only of ourselves.

We need to remember what Christ told us:

 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’“This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’    Matthew 22:37-39

Even the "bad guys", the perpetrators, need our kindness and our prayers.  How else will we prevent further events like 9/11?

Please remember 9/11 and commemorate it by making the world a better place to live with more of God's love.

And pray like your life depends on it.
Because it does!

Thank you and God Bless you.

       Boat launch and picnic table near South Colton, NY
This sign prohibits swimming for safety reasons.
We need to make sure we don't exclude people without Godly reasons.

  Knapps Station Community Church

This is my church.  I have been fed spiritually here as I never had before.

(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.

Stalks of corn growing in a soy field.
We stand out when we live God's way.

Just as these bugs are eating this plant and will leave it damaged and dying, sin will eat our souls and leave us empty and lifeless.

Our world is falling apart like this old shed. We need to work together and rebuild a better version
one based on God's blueprint.

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

      Everything and everyone that God makes is           fearfully and wonderfully made
         even the details of this moth's wings. 

The God I Never Knew

This is a very enlightening book about the Holy Spirit and all the gifts He gives us. I have not hurried through it because there is so much "meat" to digest and learn from.  It's well worth the read!

  Our world is very stormy.  Only God can break up the clouds.

The Blessing 

I pray that God will bless us with love and tolerance for all our brothers regardless of the color of their skin, their beliefs or how they act.
I pray that God will help us to learn to make Him first in our lives and to treat all men as our brothers.

I pray that we listen to the words of the song that said "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me."
I pray that we imprint those words on our hearts and live every day of our lives that way.

I pray that the peace that surpasses all understanding may find its way into your heart today and remain there always.

                  Part of Bolt Castle in Alexandria Bay, NY 
Jesus is our bridge from this world to the next.

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 9-10-2016

            Waterfall at South Colton, NY

   Amish boys on hay wagon with large round bales of hay.