I HAVE RETURNED

A few years ago I bought this Kenneth Copeland recording and mailed it to our son.

My prayer this Easter week is for ALL the prodigals to return to their God.

I HAVE RETURNED

I have returned to the God of my childhood.

To the same simple faith. As a child I once knew.

Like the prodigal son I longed for my loved ones,

For the comforts of home, And the God I outgrew.

I have returned to the God of my childhood.

Bethlehem's babe--prophet Messiah.

He's Jesus to me, Eternal Deity,

Praise his name. I have returned.

I have returned to the God of my mother

With unfailing faith. For the child of her heart.

She said, "Bring him up in the way that you want him.

Thank God when he's grown. He'll never depart.

I have returned to the God of my mother

I learned at her knee. He's the Lily of the Valley.

I have returned to the God of my father.

The most God-like man a child could know.

I just heard a shout from the angels in glory

Praising the Lord, A child has come home.

I have returned to the Yahweh of Judah,

On my knees I did fall.

This lesson I learned as I worked my way homeward,

The Savior of all - Is a comfort to man.

I have returned to the Father of Abraham.

The Shepherd of Moses,

Who called him, "The Great I Am."

Sweet Jesus to me, Eternal Deity,

Praise his name. I have returned.

(Words by Marijohn Wilkin)
(Sung by Kenneth Copeland)

LORD JESUS, grant it is my plea.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is having your prodigal son start his blog, Wider Than The Sky, which contains this dedication:

dedications
Where would we be as humans without our common experiences?To a new friend of mine who will know himself when he sees the following verse – the only verse, so far, I prefer in the ultramodern translation that I have used here:

1st Peter 5:7 - So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you, he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God, because he is most careful with you

Most of all to my mother and father, whose constant prayers built about me a cover of protection that kept me alive and who, to my sheer amazement and to God’s glory, never lost faith in God’s plan for one minute — even through ten years of utter silence, completely unaware whether I was dead or alive or where I was or if they would ever see me again. If I am alive today, it is because of the intercession of these two most sincere believers.
dj

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To ALL of you in blogland who bless me by reading my blog

and those who's blogs I am blessed by reading

I wish you a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I am thankful for my LORD & SAVIOR, JESUS the CHRIST.

I am thankful HE has paid the cost of redeeming us to ALL who believe in HIM.

I am thankful for THE WORD OF GOD.

I am thankful for being blessed to be born in a country who's very existence is based on the Bible and Christian principles. A fact that is sadly so often forgotten today.

I am thankful for a wonderful, and long, marriage with my wonderful, Mickey.

I am thankful all 4 of our children will be together to celebrate our Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for good health.

I am thankful for a good mind.

I am thankful for a nice, warm, loving home.

I am thankful for all the other material blessings I have been blessed with.

I am thankful that God not only hears, but answers our prayers.

I am thankful for all the prayers I have seen answered.

I am thankful for the prayers I am currently praying that will be answered in the future.

I am thankful for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

I am thankful to call you friend.

DAVID TELLS HIS STORY

Many of you who have been following the story of our prodigal sons return.

The first blog I ever wrote about David was about raising him as a child here.

Then I began the story of his recent return here.

David has now begun his own blog, Wider Than The Sky.

His story starts at the bottom of his page so please scan down and begin there with the Origin Of The Species.

This story, as you will see, is not a pretty one. What story of a Prodigal is?

But, as with all who turn their lives over to Jesus, it will have a wonderful ending.

These first four segments he has written are the beginning of the bad times.

He will be adding to them and I trust you will bookmark his blog and follow along.

Mickey, David & I appreciate your interest in our story and the many prayers that have been offered for us and our extended family.

It is a very exciting time for all of us.

We serve a wonderful, mighty GOD who can, and does reach out and snatch us from the very pits of hell.

This is OUR story.

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

HELLO!

I don't need to tell you that I haven't been able to blog much or able to read very many of your wonderful blogs.

I miss you all very much.

BUT

when satan has lost one from his grip, which he did BIG TIME time with our Prodigals return,

he does not leave silently and without a fight.

We are in a very big battle and the victories are BIG and WONDERFUL but the fight is also real and hard. We continue to covet your prayers.

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. 1 John 4:4

BELOVED, LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER: FOR LOVE IS OF GOD, AND EVERY ONE THAT LOVETH IS BORN OF GOD, AND KNOWETH GOD 1 John 4:8

JESUS IS LORD!!

YEA, IN ALL THESE THINGS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERERS THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED US. Romans 8:37

MORE PICTURES & STORY

The pictures:



The change that took place in David's heart on October 14th, when he became a new creature in Christ, is beginning to take place in the outward appearance on October 28th. THIS if our son and a child of the King!!

David and Nicole before church.

David and his dad horsing around and having fun. David is pointing to his new watch, but dad, Mickey will not be outdone!

One PROUD mama and her first born son

Now the story: Nicole called David at 9:30 pm, Wednesday, October 24th, informing him she was flying in from California the next day at 3. She was here for a whirlwind 5 days, flying out on October 29th at 4 pm.

The glory of it all........she arrived a sinner needing and searching for God........she left a sinner saved by grace, redeemed and a Child of God!!!!. We are rejoicing and praising God for HIS faithfulness and patience as He persues us. That He is a God who not only hears our prayers but answers them.

We covet your prayers for all of us, especially David and Nicole as they both make some of the most important decisions of their lives. BUT.....the most important decision has already been made. David Joyce and Nicole Joyce's names were added to The Book of Life in October, 2007. David on the 14th and Nicole on the 28th.

SHOW & TELL #25 - David's Bible

Here we are again....Friday and Show & Tell time at Kelli's. Write your post and go here for Mr. Linky. Then join the fun and read ALL the other Show & Tell posts.

Many happy days and occurrences going on in our lives.

This is a great big one.

Monday morning David said he'd like to go purchase himself a brand new bible.

He was using a King James Version that had belonged to his Grandmother Errett

that I had given him several years ago and he brought with him from California.

David and I went to the Christian book store and I told him to take his time selecting his new bible.

This is the New International Version he selected. It has a soft leather cover in black with the edges of the pages silver. He selected block letters in silver for his name..

Believe me, this picture does not do it justice.

It is truly a beautiful bible.

Mickey & I purchased it for him as a gift.

We had already planned to do so for him at Christmas.

Another wonderful piece in the mosaic of his returning to His God.

David pointed out to me that the picture on my header for Penless Writer was one he had taken in 1980, at the age of 16.

YES, OUR PRODIGAL HAS INDEED RETURNED!!!!

Continue to rejoice with us

MORE ON HIM MONDAY #2

Diana, at Sunshine On My Shoulders, hosts More Of Him Monday. It consists of two choices to write about: Scripture Speaks and Him In My Life. I participated in writing on Him In My Life the first week.
I had chosen Him In My Life for that first one because I KNOW God was very much at work in our lives. Now I am choosing to write about Scripture Speaks.

You can go here to read my Him In My Life.

The instructions for Scripture Speaks are: share a specific piece of scripture that has spoken to you this last week. Share what you feel God is telling you through that passage and how you plan to apply it to your life.

If you will forgive me, Diana, I am going to bend the instructions a little. This is not a scripture that God spoke to me last week but many years ago and I have been standing firm on it. Because I have witnessed, in the past three weeks this scripture being FULFILLED I want to share it and my story with you.

I posted The Prodigal Son Returns here Saturday.

When David first disappeared from our lives, in 1986, I began to stand on and cling to, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

This is a very familiar verse that most mothers claim as they are raising their little ones. I know I did. Then when David left it became even dearer to me and I stood in faith on the words "when he is old". Believing with all my heart that the final chapters had not yet been written in any of my children's lives.

Then on January 1, 1987 the Lord gave me a new verse:

"Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for they work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border." Jeremiah 31:16 & 17

The part that REALLY spoke to me was, "they shall come again from the land of the enemy." and "thy children shall come again to their own border." I knew that my children were in the land of the enemy but they would come "from" it and return to "their own border", come back to God.

I stood firmly on these two scriptures from that point: Proverbs 22:6 and Jeremiah 31:16-17.

Then on May 13, 2001, as I was meditating on Jeremiah, a piece of the scripture just jumped off the page at me. "Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears"!!!! Don't you just love the way you can be so familiar with scripture and then the Lord gives you totally new revelation on that very scripture? What a God we serve.

As these words jumped off that page I KNEW what God was saying to me was, "you have been crying to me about this for 14 1/2 years......quit crying, wipe your tears and begin rejoicing in what I am doing". WOW!!!

Can I tell you that in the following 6 years I never shed a tear over David and my other 3 children? No! But I can tell you they have been few and far between and when I prayed I was no longer weeping and pleading before the Lord, but was indeed rejoicing, thanking him and standing firm on "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT SEEN" Hebrews 11:1

I trust the Lord has lead me to share Jeremiah 31: 16 & 17 and my story with you today. To all of us, who's children are not making Jesus the LORD of their lives, I know the Lord is saying, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to STAND." Ephesians 6;13

IT IS ON GOD'S WORD AND GOD'S FAITHFULNESS THAT I STAND

Thanks to Diana, at Sunshine on my Shoulder, for hosting More Of Him Mondays. Clink on her site, check it out, write your post and then go back and sign up with Mr. Linky and bless the rest of us with what God is doing in your lives

THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS

On February 22nd I wrote a little about raising our wonderful first born son, David. Please go here to read a little of our background in this venture.

From an early age I always felt God had a special calling on David. In December, 1975, at the age of 11, he made a profession of faith and was baptized on January 2, 1976.

As the years went along David began to act out and behavior problems arose. David is going to write his own story, so I am not going to take his thunder but only report where we are today.

In 1986 at age 22 David began to get into serious trouble with the law and he literally disappeared for 10 years. Friends use to talk to us about how we stood not knowing where our son was, or what he was doing. It was indeed ONE of the most difficult periods of our lives. We always knew it was God David was running from and not his family!

In December, 1996, at a very early hour, we got a phone call from David. 10 years we had not heard from him. He returned to Tulsa and his family just prior to Christmas, 1996. What a wonderful and joyous day that was!!!

After being in Tulsa for 1 1/2 years David moved to Northern California. He continued to harden his heart against God & Jesus and chased various "other" beliefs. After moving, David was finally diagnosed as being Bipolar and for the first time in all of our lives, including his, we understood why he was having some of the problems he had.

In May, 2004 we visited David and his roommate, Mal, and met Nicole, the girl he was dating. During this visit we took David to see Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ. David was very moved and driving home that evening he made comments such that we knew God was working in his life.

In April, 2005 he married Nicole. It was his first marriage. Nicole had three sons that entered the marriage with her. Two teenagers and one pre-teen. Our entire family was at the wedding and so delighted and pleased.

On August 27, 2006 David had a dream that disturbed him and he could not get it out of his mind. He asked if he could e-mail the dream to me, which he did. The moment I read the dream I knew it was a Spiritual Dream and I called him on the phone and began to translate the dream to him. I didn't get too far into it when he said, "Oh, my God". He began crying and turning back to God after running from Him for over 20 years.

Then the attacks of the enemy really began. Finally, on Sunday, September 30, this year David returned to his family and Tulsa. I posted about his return here.

On the following Sunday, October 7th David was in church with us and also with a commitment to attend church with us every Sunday. He was so touched during the sermon, and with our wonderful pastor, as we left the church that morning he said, "I want to talk to that man". He called and made an appointment and met with the Pastor on Thursday, October 11th.

On Sunday, October 14th David Wayne Joyce, at the age of 43 years old, returned, not only to his family, but to HIS GOD.

His father and my prayers of over 27 years were answered. I ALWAYS KNEW THEY WOULD BE. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11: 1

Will the road be smooth......no, he will be tested......but he will pass the test and fulfill the destiny God has had for him from the beginning as that small child. His days of running from God are over.

No matter what it is that you are believing for. No matter how many years it has been that you have been believing. DON'T GIVE UP!!!! God is faithful to HIS word and HIS promises to us. In a future blog I will post about dreams that God gave Mickey & I during that 10 year period when we never heard from David and I will also post the scriptures that we stood FIRM on during these 27 years.

David will write and post his own testimony and story in the near future for all of you to read and share.

For now we ask that you 1) rejoice with us that one of God's prodigal sons has returned, 2) pray for David, 3) pray for Nicole, who is not a believer, and is reeling with all that is taking place, and 4) pray that David submits to the calling that God has for him.

ALL four of my children WILL serve the Lord and love HIM with all their heart.

I BELIEVE!!!!!!!