HIS TAPESTRY - GOD'S WAYS AND PLANS and not our own

Joining in once again with Spiritual Sundays.  Go here to read other inspiring and spiritual posts or to participate.
As most of you know our beloved, beautiful, vivacious, wonderful daughter, Suzette, lost her 7 1/2 month l-o-n-g battle with cancer on May 19th at 11:30 p.m. and went to Heaven to be with her Lord & Savior. 

We read the quote below on Sunday morning, May 22nd, two days before her memorial service on May 24th.  It spoke so to our hearts but it has taken me until now to be able to blog this.  

"If you are going through a time of isolation, seemingly all alone, read John 17. It will explain exactly why you are where you are - because Jesus has prayed that you "may be one" with the Father as He is. ... God is not concerned about our plans; He doesn't ask, "Do you want to go through this loss of a loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?" No, He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way." My Utmost for His Highest ~ Oswald Chambers - May 22, 2011.

Above everything or anything in life I trust my Lord & Savior and my wonderful Triune God.  I am glad He gave me this reminder in the midst of the worst 5 days of our lives. 

Yes, Jesus prayer is that we "may be one" with the Father and God IS going to see that prayer fulfilled.  And NO, He does not ask, or even want, our opinion but He will and does allow things for HIS plans & purposes. 

I have, for a lot of years, viewed my life as a tapestry that The Lord is weaving.  When I look at it from my view point (the earthly side) I often see nothings but a big mess of knots, threads running askew with no rhyme or reason, and certainly nothing beautiful or very desirous to see. 

My earthly view

 But I trust Him because He is the master weaver and weaves only beautiful tapestries and it is He who is weaving my story (and yours too, if are His).

His Heavenly View

I deliberately picked a very simple design because I know He has much to add before He is finished with me!!

Yes, the things I go through are making me sweeter, better and more noble IF I will but remain in His pliable hands and not rebel against the potters wheel or the burning fire, which ever means He chooses to use in creating my tapestry.

The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way."

I have, do and will continue to trust you - God - Jesus - Holy Spirit!

Lead on Oh King Eternal.

  

TRYING TO ANSWER "WHY?" and DEALING WITH PAIN

"We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."  C.S. Lewis

I had copied this quote down some time ago (wish I had dated it!) and this morning as I was pasting another quote onto that page this JUMPED out at me.  Nor do I know how long ago C.S. Lewis penned those words.  What I do know: no words could, at the moment, better express my thoughts and feelings as I try and reconcile my strong faith and belief in my Triune God and His Written Word and the pain I am feeling with my precious Suzette being taken to Heaven at this time.

I KNOW that God's plans and purposes are perfect and that He desires nothing but good and the best for His beloved body, of which I am a part.  I also know, as one of the condolence cards I received so aptly said, that when I get to Heaven I will no longer ask "why" but say only two words, "of course". 

I also KNOW that it is totally foolish to even ask "why" because that is the one question God never answers.  Even when Christ asked "why have you forsaken me" on that Cross.....no answer came from God.   Yet as human beings we always seem to not only ask "why" but believe somewhere, some place, some how we will get an answer!!

Yes, God's best for me at this time is undoubtedly THE most painful thing I've ever been called upon to go through, and yet I do and will trust. 

How could I not when I serve such a God and have seen His hand, direction and work in my life these many long 73 years?



SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOP!!!!

IT SHRUNK!!!!

Suzette & Dave's appointment with the oncologist was at 9 this morning. She called me at 10:04 for the WONDERFUL (not news) but CONFIRMATION because we KNEW it was going to be so!!!!!!!

She is currently getting her 3rd round of chemo & Avastin as I type. Please pray that the effects and symptoms of thie chemo will be null, or at worst mild.

This is our 2nd GOOD - no GOD !!! - report in 2 weeks and we are jumping, hollering and running all over.

AGAIN, I thank all of you out there that are praying and holding our daughter, and our entire family, up in prayer on a daily basis.

As I posted on fb this morning, 2 hours before we got Suzette's call confirming "It Srunk" :

Jesus bore our sickness and carried our pain. Therefore we give no place to sickness or pain in Suzette. For God sent His Word and is healing Suzette. Psalm 107:20 We stand upon The Word of God

How can we ever thank our wonderful God and Jesus who: 1) paid the price for not only our Salvation but also our healing, 2) gave us His Holy Word to teach and inform us, 3) gives us the Faith to believe what He says & 4) give us the peace that passeth understanding as we walk through this firey furnace.

It Is ALL Because Of HIM !!!!!

SUZETTE - Answered Prayer

As my previous post stated....Mickey & I took Suzette to her Dr. Appointment at 9 a.m. this morning and they were to start her first chemo treatment at 9:30.

She and Dave had flown to Bethesda, MD on Monday, October 11th for an interview on Tuesday the 12th, at the National Institute of Health. They were to return to Tulsa on Wednesday, the 13th but NIH wanted her to stay another day. On Wednesday, the 13th they drained 2 more quarts of fluid from her lung and did an additional 3 biopsies and they few home on Thursday the 14th.

Monday, the 18th, Suzette & I went to an appointment with her local Dr. Cole and he told us he was wanting to talk to NIH for the results of the tests that they had done on her.

He set up the appointment for this morning at 9:30 to begin the chemo therapy......IF we had no answer from NIH.

AT 9:30 THIS MORNING DR. COLE WALKED INTO THE ROOM AND INFORMED US HE HAD JUST GOTTEN OFF THE PHONE WITH DR. CARTER FROM NIH!!!! They believe that Suzette will qualify for a stage II study they are doing. They have 2 opening left and they have reserved one of those slots for Suzette. They have one last test to run on another cell and we will know for sure by Friday.

PRAISE GOD - PRAISE GOD When I told Dr. Cole, "This is an answer to prayer!!" He replied, "Yes, it is!" God has even made sure that Suzette has a Christian Dr. who believes in prayer and knows that God is the true healer who quite often uses Dr!!!!!

I invite you to read my previous post, "What is Truth" to see our stand on this and why this is just confirmation of THE TRUTH as we walk through this journey we found thrust upon us 22 days ago when we heard the awful words "Suzette has lung cancer".

Picture of Suzette & Dave taken on 10-2-10, Mickey & my 52nd anniversary.

Picture taken of Suzette, October 16th, with her new short hair cut in preparation of chemo.

Please continue to pray for Suzette and stand in faith with us for her FINAL acceptance into this stage II study and total victory and healing.

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!!!!!

Spiritual Sunday 2010 #6 - FRUIT TREE FAITH

I actually posted this on Thursday, April 29th, but wanted to re-post it here for Spiritual Sunday. Hope it blesses someone and strengthens your faith as you wait for your seeds of faith to bring forth fruit in HIS timing.

Go here to view other Spiritual Sunday posts each Sunday. It's a wonderful place for inspiration.

**************************************************************************This is a story about a seed. It is also a story about faith.

Mickey & I were privileged to travel our great United States and Canada after his retirement. I'm not exactly sure of the year, but I know it was in the early 2000's we purchased some fresh fruit - apricots & preaches. After eating them we decided it would be fun to plant one seed of each. We got two coffee cans and planted the two seeds. We carried these coffee cans with us until we returned to our home in Coweta and placed them on the side of the house. Truthfully, we pretty much forgot about them.

About 5 years ago we noticed that one of the seeds had grown into a small plant and Mickey decided to plant it in the center of our backyard. Had I known , ( I wasn't blogging back then!!!) what I know now I would have taken a picture of this wee little tree that was about 10-12 inches tall. Over the next few years it began to grow, with the branches very low to the ground. Two years ago, when it was about 4 feet tall Mickey spoke to one of the professionals at a garden center about it and how to prune it. The lower branches were then pruned. Last year for the very first time the tree actually had blossoms in the spring!!

We got very excited and thought, "Maybe we are going to have fruit!" The blossoms turned into leaves and we enjoyed this pretty little tree in the middle of our back yard but no fruit.

This spring we once again had blossoms and we have been watching it each and every week.

The picture is dark, and not the best, but if you enlarge it you can see it is loaded with little fruits!!!!

Here is a close up of one of the fruits taking shape. Now, all this time, we had no idea whether it was a peach tree or an apricot tree. We really didn't care we were just excited that one of the seeds had made it!!!!! Now that the fruit is taking shape I "think" it is an apricot. I'll let you know when we are sure!!!

These two seeds planted so many years ago have an important lesson to teach.

FIRST, only one of them "made" it. Why? Only God knows. They were planted in the same size containers, in the same dirt and made the identical journal back to our home in Coweta. They both set in their cans by the side of the same house, with the same sun, moon, rain, snow, ice, etc. effecting them. For some reason the one did not grow. Was it the seed itself, since they were from different trees? Or was it that one just didn't want to put forth the effort?

SECOND, Mickey took the time and effort to plant both these seeds, and then to replant the one that showed it was alive and growing. He has nursed this little green shoot along these 5 years as God has brought it forth first into a full grown tree, then into bearing blossoms and now this year to it's original intended use....bearing fruit.

This seed, tree, fruit, also speaks to me on a personal spiritual level. I have seeds that I have planted, some of which have died. Why? Only God knows. But, I also have seeds that I am watering, pruning, tending and most importantly, watching and waiting patiently for God to bring forth those seeds into the full grown tree, blossoms and then His original intended purpose.....bearing fruit.

Two lessons here also: We must tend to the seeds we have planted and we must rely on God for the results which He has known from the beginning.

Seed time and harvest.......it's true in the natural and it's true in the spiritual.

I still have some seeds that are at various stages of death, new growth, growing, blossoming and bearing fruit. I'm not giving up on mine....even the ones that "appear" dead because my God can restore all things.

How about you?

Plant those seeds believing for a harvest and then be faithful in your words, your prayers, your time, your efforts to supply your end of the "works" so that God can bring forth the end He has known from the beginning.

I LOVE GOD: Father, Son & Holy Ghost!!!!

Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

INTO EVERY LIFE.........

This was not one of my best weeks to put it mildly.
So here is my SAD story :o(

The menu for The King's Kitchen this Tuesday was stew. We bought round steak, I very much dislike the packaged stew meats they sell. I decided we needed to be sure the meat itself was extra tender, since we are serving the elderly and shut-ins. SOOO Monday night when we met with the cooks to cut up the potato's, carrots, and all the ingredients for the fruit salad to go with the stew and cornbread I decided to bring home the meat to cut-up so I could cook it in my pressure cooker.

By the time we got home at 7:30 I was too tired to prepare it that night but Mickey helped me and we got it all cut-up in small bite size pieces and placed in the refrigerator.

Tuesday morning I arose at 3:30 (no big deal for me.....as most of you know I'm up at the hour a great deal of the time). Because there was so much meat to prepare I had to do it in two separate batches. I floured all the pieces, browned them in a skillet and placed them in my pressure cooker with beef broth. By 4:30 I was finished with the first batch. I took a small break and at 5 washed out my pressure cooker and began flouring and browning the second batch.

I KNEW BETTER - I TRULY DID so I can't even call it an accident!!! I failed to dry off the pressure cooker. When I placed it on the stove I heard it sizzle (from the water on the pan) and SHOULD (oh don't we love those SHOULD HAVE'S) immediately removed the pan but I did not. I turned the burner up to build up the steam and a few minutes later heard a loud POP. I knew instantly what had happened. My ceramic cooktop range was cracked.

Poor Mickey is sound asleep in bed at 5 a.m. when I burst through the bedroom door, waking him up, crying and telling him what I had just done. He is so sweet and just keeps reassuring me, "Honey, accidents just happen.". But, I know this was not an accident - it was stupidity!!!

So, this strong woman of faith !!!! begins to doubt with thoughts and words like this ......#1 "We'll

never be able to find a replacement top ". #2 "We'll have to buy a new self-cleaning, ceramic cooktop Kenmore range". I even went so far as to get on line and find out a replacement would run over $1,000 plus tax, etc. etc. I'm sure you get the picture.

So, to bring this far to long story to a close.....by mid-afternoon (after we finished up at the church preparing and delivering the meal and returned home about 1 p.m.) my dear husband not only located the part, in Atlanta, GA, but had the order placed and the new cook-top being shipped to us. The cost $249 plus shipping. Whee....much better than we, rather I, "feared".

I wish I had a picture to show you.....but the damage was just hair-line cracks that barely show and wouldn't show at all in a photo.

One of the woman at church last night said to me, "Isn't that just like the devil to attack you in the very area of ministry you step out in. You begin a feeding/cooking program and your cooktop gets ruined". Well, Mickey & I had, and have, already declared, "No attacks and no set-backs are stopping the work that God laid on Mickey's heart and that has been begun."

So after wavering in faith for a brief time, confessing and asking forgiveness of God for being "faithless" we are back on tract and the cook-top is somewhere between there and here.

Thank you Jesus for YOUR faithfulness!!

I'm also claiming Romans 8:28 in this matter:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

WONDERFUL QUOTES

BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER

By Maya Angelou

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ

That a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

When I say...'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean living,'

I'm whispering 'I am lost, Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say...'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride,

I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say...'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong,

I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success

I'm admitting I have failed, and need God to clean my mess.

When I say...'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far to visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say...'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain...

I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say...'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou.

I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!

TODAY IS BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTERS DAY

I received this from a Beautiful Christian Sister

I'm supposed to send this to BEAUTIFUL WOMEN.

That's why I've placed it here!!!

People May Not Remember exactly what you did, or what you said,

~BUT ~ THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE

THEM FEEL

My father always and consistently told me,

'Beauty is as Beauty does'

~~~~~~~~

'I'm not self confident,

I'm God confident'

By: Francis Frangipane

GOD PLANTED A GARDEN.....

"God Planted A Garden...There he put the man whom he had formed"

Genesis 2:8

"What does it mean to plant? To bury seeds beyond human view so that they germinate and eventually produce fruit. In God's plan for your life, He's planted blessing you experience over time. Just because you walk out into a field and don't see a crop, doesn't mean the seeds aren't there; God has planted things in your life that will come to fruition at different times.

It's amazing that God would plant. Why would He go to such trouble when He could just speak a word and create it? Think of the love, the personal involvement of the Creator of the universe, as He stoops down and plants blessings to come up at different seasons in your life. Everything God has for you hasn't come up yet, so you can't give up, or walk away and say, "That's all there is." No, God's got some stuff planted that you haven't seen or experienced. You're still becoming what He's planted. Knowing that reinforces your faith that it will happen. It also means God believes in you-even when you don't believe in yourself.

There are talents in you that haven't been discovered and dreams that haven't been fulfilled. That's what the battle is about! The devil is fighting you over your destiny. He knows what's been planted in you and he's trying to kill the seed. Don't let him. You're not the person you'll be six months or six years from now, because there's a time factor; everything doesn't come to harvest at the same time. You have to have faith and patience, otherwise you'll miss what God has for you."

This devotional is from THE WORD FOR YOU TODAY and is for Wednesday, September 3, 2008.

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I have spoken many time about God putting just the right words before me, at the right time, on many occasions. This is certainly an additional example of that......We learned Monday, Labor Day, that our son, David, is moving out of state, Many of you, who shared his story with us when he returned to Oklahoma last September 30, 2007, know things have not turned out as we had hoped and planned. Does this hurt? YES!!! a thousand times yes. Is our faith in God and His promises shaken ....NO!!! a million times NO!!!!

GLEANING TRUST FROM HIS WORD

Many times in reading parts of the Old Testament I have found it does not speak at all to me, and actually is boring reading. THEN there are those times, when God knows I are ready for it, and my eyes and ears are suddenly opened to truths that have been there all along. I have just been experiencing this recently as we are re-reading through the entire Bible from the Amplified Version. It is so exciting and I praise His Holy name for showing, and re-showing me, such truths.

It is now occurring in II Chronicles and it is so exciting!!!

The Lord really began to deal with me about prayer, and the fact I didn't really understand about it back in 1984!!!! I began to seek out truly learning and finding what it meant when the Bible tells us to "Pray without ceasing". Then in July, 2000 I found, and read, Andrew Murray on Prayer, and this book literally changed my prayer life. I have since re-read this book 5 times and refer to it a lot.

In January of this year Mickey & I became involved with a group, here in Coweta, Remnant House of Prayer. Here again is another life changing experience that has so opened our eyes and hearts to the power of prayer. Not just for ourselves, and prayer requests and needs we know of, but to be interceding on behalf of what God's plans and purposes are for the entire world, and especially for THE CHURCH, The Body of Christ, in these last days.

You know, God is always pressing us, moving us on, getting us to where He's had in mind for us from the beginning of time!!! God began. a couple of months ago, to speak to me about beginning a prayer group here in blogland that would not only encompass prayer 24/7 but encompass the entire world. Of course then our enemy comes in with "who do you think you are to tackle such a job?", "remember you are 70 years old", etc. etc.

So back to II Chronicles!!! On May 29th we were reading Chapter 13 and I notices I had marked several verses back in August last year. They were: vs 3 "And Abijah prepared for battle with an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. Jeraboam, set the battle in array against him with 800,000 chosen men, mighty men of valor" - vs 8 "And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord which is in the hands of the sons of David because you are a great multitude and you have with you the golden calves, which Jeraboam made for you for gods." & vs 14 "When Judah looked, behold the battle was before and behind and they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. and the outcome was that the Lord fought the battle and Abijah, with 1/2 the manpower, won!!!!!

Then the next day, in Chapter 14 vs 11 God literally screamed at me "Asa cried to the Lord his God, O Lord, there is none besides You to help, and it makes no difference to You whether the one You help is mighty or powerless. Help us, O Lord our God! For we rely on You, and we go against this multitude in Your name. O Lord, You are our God; let no man prevail against You!" Thus I obeyed what God had placed on my heart and began the prayer blog Hearts In "1" Accord 24/7.

On May 7th Chapter 20 vs 15b-17 "The Lord says this to you: Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go down to them. Behold, they will come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the ravine before the Wilderness of Jeruel. You shall not need to fight in this battle; take your positions; stand still; and see the deliverance of the Lord (Who is) with you. Oh Judah and Jerusalem, Fear not nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you." Then yesterday Chapter 30 vs 9 "For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and He will not turn away His face from you if you return to Him."

All of this has been burning in my heart since yesterday and I just had to be obedient and share it here. Just look at that last promise, our brethren and our children will be freed from their captors and return to this land. (meaning to God!!!) How can we not be obedient to pray "without ceasing"?

ANSWERING BLOGOVERSARY QUESTIONS #8

and MORE!!!!!!

Michelle, Franzenfam, asked........If you could be a color what color would you be and why?(I work with kids can you tell :-))........This is an easy one.....blue has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember. NOW, Michelle, you must tell me what that means?

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Jewelgirl, Jewelgirl Loves Jewelry, asked......Have you ever put togetheryour family history?.....Short and sweet answer, no. I really do not know very much about my family past my own mother and father. I wish I did and it is one reason that I am using this blog to document things for my children and grandchildren.

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LAST but certainly not least, Sarah, Short Stop, asked.....Can you share a trial in your life where you saw God's grace SO clearly as He brought you through?

Yes, I sure can. After 25 years of marriage Mickey & I went through a very difficult time. It was wholely and entirely God's grace, and standing on His WORD and His commandments, that brought us through. At 30 years of marriage we renewed our vows. You can read about it here. The fact that we will celebrate our Golden Anniversary on October 4th of this year is testimony alone to God's grace and His faithfulness to restore to us what we had lost. God has blessed us above and beyond what we could have hoped or dreamed. Just as His word proclaims: Delight thy self also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalms 37:4

He does - He has!!!!!

HOW IS DAVID DOING? & AWARD

A dear friend e-mailed me last week and said:

"Just a quick question for you... How is David doing? He has been on my mind a lot. "

As I was answering her it occurred to me that some of you were probably wondering the same thing since I had not posted about him since saying this......

The past 79 days, since our oldest son returned to Tulsa, has been a war. MANY victories, which I have recorded in this blog, but also lost battles. Our enemy, Satan, does not give up those who he has controlled for a long time easily. We know this and were fully aware of the war we were entering. BUT we also know:
I John 4:4 - "Ye are of God little children, and have overcome them: BECAUSE GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD."

here on December 18th.

I decided to copy here what I answered my dear friend on Thursday.

"To answer your question: Based on the shape and condition he was in when he arrived in Tulsa on September 30, 2007.......he is a 9.

Based on the job situation.......he is a 10.

Based on his shape and condition in his personal life......he is a 3.

Based on the condition he is with God & Jesus.......he is a 3. Based on God's perspective and our faith perspective.......he is a 10!!!! We KNOW who has the victory.....and it's not Satan!!!!!!!

As I write this I think I'll have to post this!!!!!

Thanks for asking."

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"

Hebrews 11:1 KJV

"The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see."

Hebrews 11:1 The Message

And I have to add.....but what we KNOW to be the ultimate truth and reality!!!

This is a recent picture taken of him and his new bowling ball. He has joined his younger brother, Marc, in the love of bowling.

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My dear New Zealand friend (oh I just LOVE being able to claim a friend from so far away :o) ) Karen of Karen's Ramblings developed this award. This is what she said about it:

What is on my heart this morning is Encouragement. A word of hope or affirmation is a real blessing to building one another up - with the view of leading us closer to God.

I have been really encouraged, inspired, challenged and stirred up by a lot of posts that I have read. They have drawn me closer to God, desiring to follow in His Footsteps more and more.

So, with that in mind I have designed this Award called "You Encourage me to follow in his Footsteps".

Then she proceed to pass it on to 7 of us. This is what she said to me:

Susan of Penless Writer Susan does not compromise, she is passionate about the Word of God and is a woman of prayer. I have been so blessed reading about her family and seeing how she holds on to the Rock in her life with tenacity, faith and unfailing hope.

I am always honored when someone chooses to give me an award. I am especially pleased to have been honored with this award because: 1) of what it represents - Encouraging others to follow in Jesus' footsteps and 2) because of the integrity of the one, Karen, who designed it.

Thank you so much Karen. I truly am DEEPLY honored and will always endeavor to Encourage others as we each follow in our Lords paths for us individually. We truly are parts of the wonderful BODY OF CHRIST and have our individual function and our special story and part.

AN AWARD

I want to thank those of you who left me comments yesterday on my blog about Stinking Flesh.

I do know who I am in Christ.

I do know the price was paid IN FULL for me on Calvary by Christ's blood.

I do know I cannot and am not trying to earn my salvation.

I am just keenly aware of the fact that our wonderful Savior and God continues to conform us into His purpose.

My life verse is:

Philippians 1:6

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

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In the midst of my fiery furnace Sharon, of Rose of Sharon , gave me this wonderful beautiful award. Thank you so much Sharon. It is especially touching to me since it came at a time when I am feeling (in the flesh AGAIN) so Un-Amazing.

BUT my GOD is AMAZING and GLORIOUS and

LONGSUFFERING.

IN HIM, AND HIM ALONE, DO I PUT MY TRUST.

STANDING ON HIS WORD

Standing on HIS word is something I've been doing for years. It has really been brought home these past 40+ days just how crucial it is to do just that, moment by moment.

I remember years ago studying Bible Memory work under the Navagators and learning a very fundamental visual lesson that has stood the test of time. I thought I would share that with you today. Those who have heard this, it will refresh your memory, those who have not heard it I hope it will be something you can cling to

Picture your hand, and the 5 fingers on your hand. Each finger stands for a truth about Hiding the Word in our hearts.

#1 - HEAR the WORD - Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

#2 - READ the WORD - Ephesians 3:4 "Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ." & Revelation 1:3 "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand."

#3 - STUDY the WORD - II Timothy 2:15 "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

#4 - MEMORIZE the WORD - Psalms 119:9-11 "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word."

#5 - MEDITATE on the WORD - Psalms 143:5 "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all they works: I muse on the work of thy hands." & Psalms 119:99 "I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation."

The times of testing will come and when they do it is the WORD OF GOD that sustains us and gives us strength to stand.

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God is so very faithful to encourage us and to send us tokens of what we need along the way. David has had two of these special tokens from God during the past weeks he has been home. (1) He and his brother were at the bowling Alley and "out of the blue" (?) no......from God!!......a man came up to David and said "God loves you and I love you." (2) Last week Aric, David and I were standing in line at M*c*D*o*n*a*l*d*s and I was telling Aric what a fine young man he was and then I said "Is Uncle David a young man?" A young man standing in front of the 3 of us turned to us and said, "We are all young since we will never die". We began talking to him and found that he was a Prodigal that had returned to God. He talked about the words, prayers and teaching of his mother never leaving him. David was almost in tears and saying, "Everywhere I turn God is confirming himself to me."

Last Sunday, November 4th, David officially joined the church. Another momentous day in our lives. Our Pastor's wife said to him, "We are expecting great things from you, David."

I cannot tell you the joy it is to have David join Mickey & I every morning at 7:30 for our Bible Study and prayer time. We have longed for this day as the three of us join hands and pour out our tears of gratitude to our God. He has been in every Sunday morning and evening service, and every Wednesday night and even went the last Saturday of October to help with the Angel Food Ministry.

He has a very important job interview Monday morning at 9 a.m. We ask that you join with us in praying about this. Our prayer is that God will open the door he wants David to walk through and will close the ones he does not want him to walk through.

I know many of you are praying with us, and for us, during this time. I want you to know how very much that means to us and how very much we appreciate that fact

HAPPY 231st BIRTHDAY-UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

This picture was posted on Sunday, July 1st on Mountain Mamma's site. I contacted her and asked permission to re post it on my site today. It is one of the most awe inspiring pictures I have ever seen.

Please enlarge the picture and you will see it is formed with 25,000 officers and men at Camp Dix New Jersey, General Hugh L. Scott Commander. The date on the picture is 1918.

(I just discovered my picture isn't enlarging for some reason - click on Mountain Mamma's link to see the enlarged picture)

As we celebrate our nations 231st birthday today let us all thank God for all the men and women who have served, many of them with their very life blood, to make and keep us the free nation that we are today. America, even with all our problems, and we have many, is still the best and highest there is.

Let us especially say a prayer for all the brave men and women who are serving all over the world even today, at this very moment that you are reading these words.

Last, but not least, let us Praise God and give God thanks for the ultimate freedom that each and everyone of us can experience by putting our faith and trust in Jesus the Christ. That freedom that was purchased for us on the Cross of Calvary to redeem us from sin and reconcile us back to our Father God.

I thank God for my salvation.

I thank God for my country, the United States of America.

I thank God for the men & woman serving today so that I have the freedom to post this tribute, and pray these prayers today in my free nation.

THE NAMES OF GOD

Elohim - The Creator

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1

El Elyon - The God Most High

But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore. Psalms 92:8

El Roi - The God Who Sees

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

II Chronicles 16:9

El Shaddai - The All Sufficient One

And Jesus said unto them I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger;

and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:36

Adonai - The Lord

But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared:

The LORD of hosts is his name. Isaiah 51:15

Jehovah - The Self-Existent One

Before Me there was no God formed,

And there will be none after Me,

I, even I, am the Lord;

And there is no savior besides Me. Isaiah 43:10 & 11

Jehovah-jireh- The Lord Will Provide

And my God shall supply all your needs

according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Jehovah-rapha - The Lord Who Heals

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me

to preach the gospel to the poor;

he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,

to preach deliverance to the captives,

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty them that are bruised. Luke 4:18

Jehovah-nissi-The Lord My Banner

He brought me to the banqueting house,

and his banner over me was love. Song of Solomon 2:4

Jehovah-mekoddishkem - The Lord Who Sanctified You

Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word is truth. John 17:17

Jehovah-shalom - The Lord Is Peace

Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us:

for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. Isaiah 26:12

Jehovah-sabaoth- The Lord of Hosts

The Lord of Hosts has sworn saying,

"Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened,

and just as I have planned so it will stand." Isaiah 14:24

Jehovah-raah - The Lord My Shepherd

I am the good shepherd,

and know my sheep, and am known of mine. John 10:14

Jehovah-tsidkenu - The Lord Our Righteousness

And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:

and they shall be my people, and I will be their God,

in truth and in righteousness. Zechariah 8:8

Jehovah-shammah-The Lord Is There

Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee,

I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is

the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73: 25 & 26

He is all these things to me!!!!!

& So Much More.

Who Is Jesus?

In chemistry, he turned water to wine.

In biology, he was born without the normal conception.

In physics, he disapproved the law of gravity when he ascended into heaven.

In economics, he disapproved the law of diminishing return by feeding 5,000 men with two fishes & 5 loaves of bread.

In medicine, he cured the sick and the blind without administering a single dose of drugs.

In history, he is the beginning and the end.

In government, he said that he shall be called wonderful counselor, prince of peace.

In religion, he said no one comes to the father except through him.

So, who is He?

He is Jesus!

He is my Lord and my Savior.

In God I've found everything!

WE HAVE BEEN REDEEMED!!!

Quoting from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers:

"Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane,

and saith unto his disciples.....tarry ye here, and watch with me".

Matthew 26:36&38

"We can NEVER fathom the agony of Gethsemane, but at least we need not misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and Man in one, face to face with sin. We know nothing about Gethsemane in personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary, stand for something unique; they are the gateway into Life for us."

PRAISE-PRAISE TO OUR GOD

FATHER - SON - HOLY GHOST

WE HAVE BEEN REDEEMED!!!

HAPPY RISEN LORD'S DAY

I, like I'm sure all of you, have spent the last few days really reflecting on my LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS the CHRIST,. What an awesome thing to call HIM not only SAVIOR but LORD, and to have HIM call me HIS child. That blows my mind still today after being HIS child for all these years.

As we (I) meditate, these last few days, on ALL that HIS BLOOD purchased for us (me), my most fervent PRAYER is that not one stripe, not one spit, not one cursing, will have been in vain on my behalf. That I might live up to EVERYTHING that HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD purchased for me. Not only in the life to come but here and now, TODAY!!! My greatest hope and desire is to hear HIM say, "Well done".

My wish, for each and every one of you that pass by this little tribute of mine to MY RISEN LORD and MASTER, is that you know and experience HIS LOVE and FORGIVENESS for you.

HE truly PAID IT ALL, once and for all.

I wish all of you a WONDERFUL, BLESSED, HAPPY RISEN LORD'S DAY.

Angels #2

I

I decided today to show some of my most treasured possessions with some of my angels..

My Bibles.

Not all these books reside on this table all the time. They have been placed here for the picture! What resides on this table are the current ones we are studying out of,

The King James and The Message, plus two devotional books and our prayer journal.

The angel on the back corner lives on this table with our daily devotionals, Bibles and books.

She is holding in front of her the letters L O V E with "my family"

written on the heart that forms the O. I bought her at a garage sale.

Since she is made of fabric I decided to include my two other fabric angels.

The one sitting on the left corner was given to me by our dear friends, Jack & Mary.

The little one sitting on the big Family Bible usually sits on the blue Fostoria bowll

on the lamp table behind. I purchased her but I don't really remember where.

These are the only fabric angels I have.

Sitting in front of my Message Bible is an angel made of tin. I know she is hard to see.

She has a blue robe with red trim on the bottom, sleeves and neck. She is holding a candle.

Her hair is yellow and her wing is dark pink. She is a Christmas ornament

that I bought in New Mexico. She lives in the corner of a picture frame.

The other two, sitting on The New American Standard Bible, are matching napkin ringsmadefor meby our good friends, Don and Barbara.

Now for the other books and Bibles on the table.

In the far left corner is our daily devotional book My Utmost For His Highest

by Oswald Chambers. While visiting my forever friend in Albuquerque

in October, 1997 she had one of these and I really liked it.

For Christmas of 1996 it was part of my Christmas gifts from Mickey.

We began it on 1-1-98 and are now in our 10th year of reading it daily.

To the right of the Large Family Bible is one of my many favorite books.

It is Andrew Murray on PRAYER. I received a gift certificate

for a local Christian Book Store from some girls I worked with,

just before we left on one of our long journeys to the

Eastern United States and Eastern Canada.

When I went to select books before we left this is one I purchased.

We began reading it in July 2000 and have since re-read it 4 other times.

This is a book that changed our lives in the area of prayer.

To the far right is The J.B. Phillips New Testament in Modern English.

I have had this New Testament for many years..

To the far left front is our LARGE Print AMPLIFIED Bible.

Sitting on top of that is my newest addition...it is a

Franklin Electronic KJV Bible.

This was my Christmas gift from my dear husband, Mickey this past year.

I love it!!

To the right of the Electronic Bible is our Prayer Journal..

This journal was a gift from my dauthter-in-love from a business trip she made

to Bangladesh in 2006. It is all handmade paper and very beautiful.

SOME TIMES YOU SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST,

The Bible in the far right corner is my King James Version of the Bible.

It reads Presented to.....

"My Wonderful & Lovely Wife - Susan"

From

"A devoted husband - Mickey"

"on our first anniversary - October 4, 1959"

It is my most treasured possession.

When asked the question, "If you could only save one thing what would it be?".

I never have to wonder or think twice. It would be this BIBLE.

After 17 1/2 yeqars the pages are paper thin,

We had it rebound in May, 1978 because it was falling apart.

I love THE WORD of GOD.

We also have a Living Bible.

The Marked Reference Bible by Vondervan

and a Spanish New Testament.

No Hay Amor Mas Grande

Mickey has a The Scofield Reference Bible. It was given to him by the Pastor when he was saaved on March 27, 1959.

In addition to the various Bibles.

we also value our reference books: W.E. Vine's An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Word; Vine's Complete Expositor Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words:

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary On The Whole Bible;

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible.

One of the MANY things I have always been thankful for is being born at a time

in history where we have so much knowledge at our fingertips in books.

Never, did I fathom the knowledge that is now available to us at our fingertips

clicking away on a keyboard and accessing all knowledge known to man.

WE ARE SO BLESSED!!

Katrina - August 28, 2005

August 28, 2005 a day thousands will never forget, but many others have. A day that will be in an indelible memory to our family.

Our daughter, Jacque, and granddaughter, Jessica, were residing in Ocean Spring, Mississippi. We are watching the news channel and all the reports through the night about the hurricane watch and this massive storm heading their way.

An evacuation notice is put out for the area where our two precious ones live in a lower floor apartment of a two story apartment building right on the beach. This is not a new experience for them. The prior evacuation they had actually packed all they could in their car and headed north to Memphis to Jacque's Aunt Helen's home. Fortunately this time they have a house on higher ground to evacuate to and decide to stay there. A policeman instructs them to take one of their cars and park it on higher ground than even the house they are going to. They heed the policeman's advise.

We receive the first phone call informing us of all the above. We wait. We are glued to the TV set and constant weather reports. The hours pass. Later we receive the second phone call. We can hear the roar of the storm over the phone. The home where they are at is a split-level with the main floor being street level and the lower floor under that opens up to the outside with a creek behind the home. Jacque informs us that the lower level of the home is flooded and the water is beginning to come up onto the main living area. Two navy wives from next door with 3 very small children have joined the husband, wife and son homeowners and Jacque, Jessica and Jessica's boyfriend, Doug. The 11 of them are going to evacuate and go across the street to another house that sits on higher ground. Jacque is calm, Jessica is almost hysterical. We are informed they have some life jackets and rope. I assure Jacque they are going to be fine. She says, "I know it mom".

We hear nothing for more than three days.

We stay glued to the TV and the phone. We are concerned, naturally, and yet both Mickey and I have "the peace of God that passeth understanding". FINALLY around 1:00 pm the phone rings. It is Jessica saying "Grandma this is Jessica". Sweeter words are seldom heard!!! They are okay. They have driven to Mobile just to be able to pick up a cell phone connection so they can call. Jacque is driving while Jessica is talking to us.

The story: they had waded across the street in chest high water. A single man lived across the street by himself. His home set on a little higher ground, why they had gone there, plus he had a second story if the water had gotten up that high. Thankfully it had not. These 11 people, some of them strangers a few hours before had weathered out the storm together.

The crises is over. Ours are safe. Many others are not.....we all know that. Now comes the nitty gritty facts of trying to figure our where to go and what and how to do. Because they had evacuated so many times before and nothing had "happened" this time, not only did they decide to stay in town but did not take much with them. They thought they would be gone probably a day or so. Jacque had a pair of jeans, a couple pair of shorts, a shirt and some tops, flip-flops and tennis shoes. Jessica had about the same but no tennis shoes. Can you imagine the devastation and having to walk around in flip-flops? Jessica's car, the one they had driven to the house was completely flooded and ruined. So was Doug's. Jacque's, which thankfully they had parked where the policeman had instruction them, was okay except both the front and back windows on the driver's side had been blown out. There was no gas to be found. They had siphoned the gas out of Jessica & Dougs cars and put in Jacque's to get to Mobile to make the phone call. They are okay on food and walk long distances to obtain bottled water. They cannot find Jessica any tennis shoes.

Disastrous times bring out the very best and the very worse in people. You find out your true "metal". When finally some gas trucks got into the area they had to pay $5 a gallon for gas. Price gorging? They finally got to the Salvation Army trying to get some money. They would not give them any. They were giving food and clothing but not cash. FEMA-----you know the news stories on that at the beginning. Who did come to their aid? The churches and Christians of course. Jessica finally got tennis shoes!!! They got more clothing, water and additional food.

We are frantically trying to get money wired into them. The banks are down. Finally we find we can wire money to them through Walmart but not the Walmart in Ocean Springs. We have to wire it to Pascagoula and they have to get there to get it. The same with trying to buy a cell phone. Took them 1/2 a day to buy a cell phone.

One of the "funniest" things was people would say to us, and to them, "Can't you go over to the apartment and salvage some things?". The entire 2nd floor of the apartment building had fallen onto the lower floor where their apartment was. As Jacque told us "When we finally got to the apartment area to see it we could not even tell exactly where our apartment had been".

What is the end of my story and how are our two precious ones doing? Fabulous! Jacque decided the best thing for her to do was come back to Tulsa. So on September 14th, 17 days after Katrina she left and drove to her Aunt Helen's in Memphis for the night and then arrived at our home in Coweta on September 15th. Now remember she is driving a car with both the driver's side windows blown out and the door won't open so she has to get in on the passenger's side. But get here she did. Jessica decided she did not want to move to Tulsa because of boyfriend, Doug. We were not happy about that decision but she was 19.

If you've been reading my blog you know that we own a 30' Jayco 5th Wheel. When we decided to stop our travels and settle down at home and church we put up the 5th wheel and the truck for sale. The truck sold immediately. The 5th wheel did not. We tried for one month and then decided it just wasn't God's will. Mickey had already poured a second driveway, on the other side of our property, to the back yard and had electric, water and sewer connections set up for it. We parked the 5th wheel there. Guess what? That has made a perfect home for Jacque since arriving here. She is right here with us and yet we have our privacy and she has hers. It NEVER ceases to amaze me how "God works everything together for good to those that love him".

One more thing I want to say and point out. When Jacque got to Tulsa she got excellent help immediately from both The Salvation Army and FEMA. Maybe that was because they did have the tremendous load here in this area, although there were quite a few here from Katrina. They bused in people to Fort Gruber, an old National Guard Army Base.

Jacque began an entirely new profession as a pharmacy tect with Walgreens. A position she was able to get through some church friends of ours. She is well and happy. We are delighted to have her home. We are delighted that she and her sister, Suzette, and brother, Marc are enjoying each other. Her niece, Oksana, and nephew, Aric, absolutely love having her here because she spoils them!!!

I do want to say that the pictures I have included were not taken by Jacque but were ones that were sent to her. I would give credit for them if I knew who to credit. I am thankful to have them for this post because they really show what it was all about.