Psalm 122 ~ I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

Psalm 122

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3 Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for[a] Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 There thrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!”
8 For my brothers and companions' sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.


Phillip Phillips - Gone Gone Gone Lyric Video has a few lyrics that don't quite fit, and yet...
the Life and Verve of the Song!!!

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Abundant Life..

Jesus knew something of Rock...vacationing or traveling to Caesarea ...

Matthew 16:18
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

I've done Youth Ministry for ten years now. And volunteering at the Pregnancy Assistance Center, I meet people just as they actually are. And find most people are rather, bumbling around. Looking for fulfillment. Some are bored. Actually a lot of people are bored.

What amazes them is the story of one of my favorite people, Jeremy. Jeremy's parents got marred when he was 10 years old. His dad came to realize his woman, mother to his two children, was basically dying from a needle stick. She was a nurse who contracted Hepatitis from giving a patient a shot. An accident. Then a car accident where she struck her head violently to have Seizure Disorder.

The family of four came to Clark and asked for him to marry the couple. Clark worked to do premarital counseling, baptized three of them and the couple married.

Jeremy was hit by a truck as a Freshman in High School, almost died and as he recovered, his mom died. He struck out on his own after High School and found his fast food career could get him a car payment, rent, insurance, but he could not afford to pay for college tuition. He wasn't one of the fortunate kids who went off to college -

Jeremy stopped in to see the Navy Recruiters. The officer was nice to Jeremy but expressed doubt a slight built young man with a rod in his leg could qualify. Jeremy told the officer frankly - the people left from High School were drug dealers and he really had never hoped to be a drug dealer or run with dealers. That made the Recruiting Officer rather quiet. The Officer said, "Jeremy, there is no way a smoker, built like you, could run ten miles, but when you can, call me and I will run with you - then we will talk about enlistment. What do you think, son, about a year to learn to run ten miles?"

Jeremy went back in weeks. And he ran that ten miles and talked that officer into placing him en route to paramedic training.

Jeremy dated his, now, wife by telephone for three years. And Jeremy chose to find a career, find hard work, go where the roll of the dice took him. (Christians would say God's will.)


Young people are usually quiet when I tell them about Jeremy. A few of them say, "Wow". And I tell them that is what is required. We have to build a life with deliberation and determination.



There is a well known Hymn. In one of the lyrics ... For His Church He fought and died. That might be a bit controversial, but God honors His Church. And the people the Church houses. Being in Church requires some deliberation, not blind obedience, but the determination to make the time.

I've met people who say part of their trouble is the need for more meaningful gatherings and people to meet.

And I have a solution of you.... keep deliberately deciding to go to Church. Sure, we understand physical hunger, but Spiritual hunger is easily mistaken for less enduring things.

Jesus Christ and His Church. Two Thousand Years later... like a drum baby.. never stop beating...

When life leaves you high and dry
I'll be at your door tonight
If you need help, if you need help.
I'll shut down the city lights,

(The day we found out our daughter Isabelle would die, Clark arrived to just visit for an hour. He would return later with Tricia, his wife, and we sat and just wept. Tricia would later invite me to our Needlepoint Group - widening, strengthening, deepening my heart.)

When enemies are at your door
I'll carry you away from war
If you need help, if you need help.
Your hope dangling by a string
I'll share in your suffering
To make you well, to make you well.

(When Hurricane Ike approached our city, Dee and Cindy arrived to place their hands on my huge tummy to pray for a very silent Isabelle. We all knew I couldn't leave because birth was imminent. We prayed for the safety of the house. And Edward survived going upstairs to put pans in the attic as the tornado was ripping up trees. The house and Edward were safe.)

Give me reasons to believe
That you would do the same for me.

(I've seen men give up half of their year long vacation to make sure air conditioners and lights were ready for a new Church. Mornings given up 52 weekends a year, so Church could be made ready.)

And I would do it for you, for you.
Baby, I'm not moving on
I love you long after you're gone.

(I still drive by streets, now not housing loved ones like Randy Mantai, remembering how a Church drew together for a fund raiser to make sure his huge hospital bill was covered. Remember "Grumpy Old Smokers" making sure people could stay and have a delicious meal together. Remember a man who couldn't stand easily, but greeted all the people in the same loving fashion. Remember Randy finding a way to fix the air conditioner in our car. Randy's gone Home to be with His Lord. But he is still loved.)

For you, for you.
You will never sleep alone.
I love you long after you're gone
And long after you're gone, gone, gone.

(Randy was worried about leaving Julie behind, but he's in paradise. And Julie can count on being with Randy again, believing His promises.)

When you fall like a statue
I'm gon' be there to catch you
Put you on your feet, you on your feet.
And if your well is empty
Not a thing will prevent me.
Tell me what you need, what do you need?

(Bob Harris went on home to Detroit and then he went on HOME after a drunken driver took his life; after starting a Prison Ministry I'd have to say we were all a little too immature for. And in stead, in steadfast love, he has Judy remembering Bob with love. Yet there is a wonderful, warm legacy left. Bob would go to his daughter's house, fly in, rent a car, go to the grocery and fix her a meal she would return home from work for. Bob had some wilder younger years, but he did Grow up, Grow towards Him and Go Home. Leaving a memory we will love long after he has gone.)

I surrender honestly.
You've always done the same for me.

(Honestly, we have to be the people not just meeting and greeting the ones who are polished on the surface. The portion of the Word of God saying "I never knew you" is for the people of God turning people away for not being His willing Heart.)

So I would do it for you, for you.
Baby, I'm not moving on,
I love you long after you're gone.

Matthew 28:20
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

For you, for you.
You will never sleep alone.
I love you long after you're gone
And long after you're gone, gone, gone.

Romans 10:9
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.


You're my back bone.

Exekiel 37
‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.'

You're my cornerstone.

Ephesians 2:20
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone

You're my crutch when my legs stop moving.

Ezekiel 29:6
You and your nation refused to help the people of Israel and were nothing more than a broken stick.

You're my head start.

1 Samuel 15:17-19
And Samuel told him. “When you started out in this, you were nothing—and you knew it. Then God put you at the head of Israel—made you king over Israel.

You're my rugged heart.

Ezekiel 36:26
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

You're the poultice that I've always needed.

3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.


Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum my heart never stops beating...
For you, for you.

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Baby, I'm not moving on.
I love you long after you're gone.

Matthew 24:13
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.


For you, for you.
You will never sleep alone.
I love you long after you're gone.

John 15:4
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me

For you, for you.
Baby, I'm not moving on,
I love you long after you're gone.

1 John 2:6
Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

For you, for you.
You will never sleep alone.
I love you long, long after you're gone.

John 5:30
I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me

Matthew 16:17-19
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”


Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum, baby, don't stop beating.
Like a drum my heart never stops beating for you.

And long after you're gone, gone, gone.
I love you long after you're gone, gone, gone.

+

Luke 21:19
Stand firm, and you will win life.

<><

2 Kings 17:24-41 ~ He will deliver you

2 Kings 17:24-41

24 And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord.

29 But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They also feared the Lord and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

34 To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the Lord, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, 36 but you shall fear the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. 37 And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, 38 and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, 39 but you shall fear the Lord your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner.

41 So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children's children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

Israel and Judah are in chaos. And really only have peace when they trust God to make sense of their environment. We could even say the Kingdom is in Middle Age and leaning towards Glory.

I noticed as I worked in my twenties and looked at various businesses in Dallas, employers tend to really take care of the workers with them from their youth and as they hit middle age, they begin to see their employees as replaceable cogs. God is upset with these times, for good reason Chapter 17 starts out with In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, and Ahaz has built a foreign altar to decide his fate and has sacrificed his son to a god of prosperity.

When my mother visits she esquires about all the people she has met in her decades here, mostly the news is bumpy about the people we know. Leading to my mom remembering what we routinely put up with in today - is the horror of her youth. People starting families without marriage. People passing on. The times, events of life will swirl you.

We can draw from these experiences. Come to the Word of God and draw deeply. We have times in our lives we feel pressed down. Other people not living the dream. And c'mon when we say living the dream, these days we mostly smile in understanding, rather than the V victory sign.

Out of these times... out of this pressing down... the bad parental advice...the politics...the monetary situation ... the hopelessness... the next King of Judah... will be the most prosperous and aligned with God - ... Hezekiah. Hezekiah has endured. Ahaz, evidently, did not sacrifice Hezekiah to his god. Hezekiah, with the help God has given him in Isaiah, Isaiah's Third King, - is going to form such a working relationship with God that even archaeology today has riches to see and to be in joy this occurs.


Psalm 57

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

We all get a choice, go with the flow, or rise up in expectation that God Reigns. These times have so much to yearn for old days, and have glories in true Worship - we just did not see.

You shall not fear other gods, but you shall fear the Lord your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.

2 Kings 18
In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.


5 He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. 



For he held fast to the Lord.!!!

<><

Psalm 105 ~ They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance

Psalm 105

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”

12 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”

16 When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.

23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.

26 He sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their strength.

37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.

43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

Was there a third Exodus? Actually yes. The Lord did not rise up to be Moses of Israel. He asked the disciples to stay to receive the Holy Spirit, but eventually the disciples left Israel.

Read the passage again, this time knowing this could be speaking of Exodus, this is the story of Peter, swimming to greet Jesus.

A time of great uncertainty ended with Peter being reunited with Jesus is His Paradise.

So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

<><

1 Kings 21:17-29 ~ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go

1 Kings 21:17-29

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. You shall say to him, "Thus says the Lord: Have you killed, and also taken possession?" You shall say to him, "Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood."

Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" He answered, "I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, I will bring disaster on you; I will consume you, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel; and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin. Also concerning Jezebel the Lord said, 'The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the bounds of Jezreel.' Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the air shall eat."

(Indeed, there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. He acted most abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.)

When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his bare flesh; he fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the disaster on his house."



Ahab is remembered for being an evil man and king. Elijah brought him The Word of the Lord, but Ahab didn't like Elijah and thought of Elijah as his enemy. The Lord was more impressed that Ahab reached beyond the messenger to hear The Word. We can be glad that the Lord hears our prayers, even sinners have the Lord's compassion.

However, we can always hope not to just have one encounter with compassion, but to foster the way of our lives bringing more Heaven to earth.

Ahab down. Compassion forward. With this willing of a heart, makes you wonder what Ahab would have done with meeting Jesus. Lord, if You will - Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will".

<><

Matthew 8:1-4 ~ Lord, if You will - Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will"

Mount of Olives, Israel

Matthew 8:1-4

1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

The blog is picked out when I'm on vacation or on the run from the two thousand posts published since 2007. Prayer accomplishes the picked post before the post is read. Today's post is June 27th, 2008. The man photographed on the sidewalk on the Mount of Olives reminded me of our Pastor. This was his first trip to Israel.

Actually the post from June 27th, 2008 did not have a comment on the reading. I remember that particular day I felt very lonely. Who likes to admit to loneliness when in June of 2008, I had a house of youth ministry boys and dishes to wash. Heck, who likes to admit to loneliness. But I was and left the title as "Lord, if You will."

Loneliness has dogged me since I hit puberty. And I shared that with my very well read grandmother Anita. Who quoted me from her favorite book, "The Yearling" which has a quotes saying, "We all get lonely, we just go on."

And you know, life has seasons. My dad used to say the Sunday Blue Laws gave him the Sundays - a restless boredom not easily filled. Loneliness isn't always isolation, according to James Dobson. Loneliness can be insulation. How to share what's in your soul and who to give that to.

Scripture says Love covers a Multitude of Sins. You can get stuck inside yourself. Really stuck. One more reason to get off the American fed rear end and move that to Church.

We need to love. Love. To reach beyond our boundaries and truly care. I did Youth Ministry. That expanded my world a good bit. You let in the good with the bad when you increase your boundaries. Youth Ministry has had two almost fatal car accidents, an unplanned pregnancy resulting in good marriage, counseling crushed teens in good and bad dating, lots of bbqs and breakfasts. And we had an entire tent donated to us after my oldest son stood up and sprayed his younger brother's friends like a sprinkler system with thrown up - regurgitated Vienna sausages. Needless to say, there was A LOT of screaming, it woke up the entire camp site. Unfortunately, our employed Youth Minister did not see the humor until I almost passed out, I laughed so hard. He couldn't stay mad too long as I was starting to roll on the ground kicking my feet up in the air - the madder he got and the more the story progressed. To his credit, we both laughed till we cried.

And then, I just was still lonely. Which goes and comes, with this blog post ending in -

Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will"

The next significant thing in my insulation isolation or whatever you deem that - was our Church Needlepoint Group. Bing. HIM. What we share a significant amount of in our Needlepoint group is parental misbehavior. All of these grown women discovered we had this in common. We had in our midst a lady who now tells us she was wiped out - her stories reflected an abuse we don't even often see in the Media. And I realized, we had a duty to listen to these hard stories pouring out. Sometimes this is hard to listen to - it's easier to just be friends with the people who sparkle. And this group began to be a haven. Lives were changed. And the group began to go back to being a Needlepoint Group from time to time - because - old hurts were being... Healed.

This group made a change in my heart. Sometimes the group was... not fun. Sometimes there are things that are dark, lurk and not healed. And you, sadly, can't touch that. And we kept going and even touched upon some things you just have to give to Him. And the Truth is - He is in charge. This Light is still shining for this group.

Life has seasons of change. Which, oddly enough, is surprising. We've welcomed new family in our lives and I've felt my heart grow like no other time. And still this is a season of change and more looking at His Word for love to be good influence.


And I'm sitting here still proclaiming -

Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will"

This Post finds our Paster returning from Israel and I'm looking vastly forward to hearing Clark tell about new developments in Israel of men and women discovering God is good all the time.

And today, I do believe Love has permanently expanded my heart. Finding a voice for my soul. Loving the people I know with less judgement. Kicking tail when I have to. Volunteering at our local Pregnancy Assistance Center and finding out the privilege of finding sausage biscuits brought to the volunteers that instead went to feeding a homeless pregnant woman intent on hearing a Christian message and seeing her life change there. (Lord Jesus Christ be with that dear women who now is a new mom.)

Having a bright eyed young client tell me of homelessness, a handicapped six year old son, an unemployed new husband, a need for medicare specialist ob-gyn to discern the needs of her unborn daughter who was flagged as Downs Syndrome. With bitter anger to her mom for not helping her, when her other five siblings receive help. I prayed for her and she gave me a look like bitter uh-huh thanks. That made me wince a little. And our Director said - give this beautiful Cherry Changing Table to the next client. And our bright eyed young client said, "I will find a way to pick that up today." I said, look, forgive your mom. And do some of our homework on forgiveness. She said she would and she needed some forgiveness homework.

Prayer. What a thing. Last resort - hardly.

3 weeks later - bright eyed young client has returned. With .... her mom. And her mom is thrilled too. This young mom is getting a new trailer home from her mom to put on her mom's "beautiful" land! Our bright eyed young mom is glowing. Her husband has found steady employment. And... and... and she found the medicare specialist who said the Downs Syndrome was a false positive. The treasured six year old is thrilled to find his sister is going to be okay.

Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will"


And your blogger, she has had quite a day today. A request for prayer for a young lady who loves her mom and time will be spent at dinner looking over her wedding reception photos at our house. A request from Church Family and a dear lady to bring her family to swim again. A sister-in-law calling about scheduling a niece to spend the night. A family cousin's cousin is getting married and that will be fun! A great dinner with family out of town where my son who is twenty-four sparkled and passed a mom test to see if she'd press her daughter to meet my son. A Needlepointer calling to say we had a great couples weekend. And oh, God, HIM, my mom is coming to visit. Prayer is a good thing. We just had a family reunion. And and I had my house cleaned for the first time ever. With the ladies at Walmart recognizing a cart loaded with cleaning supplies congratulating me again and again that having your house cleaned is - Wonderful!! Then hearing from another far flung niece - who wants to meet the bride we mentioned at the top of our paragraph. God creating circles of love.

Father God, may all my family be blessed knowing that the Light that shines in all mankind is living, active, joyful, ready waiting, with open arms - to always love and care and rejoice in good events we look forward to in ... Hope, Faith and Love. With the Greatest of these being Love. Because. God is Love. In Jesus Christ. Amen.

<><

John 3:16 ~ HE Gave

John 3:16
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.


Ever have "One of those Days"? Evidently according to blog my Friday, March 18, 2011 was one of those days:

"My bottom front tooth broke in half today. I was eating refried beans. Repairmen - at my house today. Trips to the hardware store. Solutions not working. Lists made for more repairs and more trips to more stores. All with a jagged snaggle tooth. More needed tooth work. By evening I was contemplating the cool, calm collected people I'd seen all day long. Sure seems like some people have an easier, more fun life. Well. C'est le guerre. You can never be too rich or too thin. Until you are the thin one or you are the rich one, compared to someone else."

Or compare this to Edward recently renting a car and the rental car place actually has harassed us because a literal Zombie Killer (he has a business idea and it's good and I won't explain further, but he has a business card showing he is a Zombie Killer) ran into Edward who was in a parked car at a red light in front of a policeman. The policeman wrote a report up saying this is true and ticketed the very friendly Zombie Killer who is currently and bonafidely insured with Geico. Anyway the 'rental car unnamed' place calls us to say they need a police report. Edward trapped them into revealing they knew there was a police report (which he handed in with the rental return) and referred to his insurance. Then they had the nerve to call and say pay for the accident until Zombie Killer insurance kicks in. Um. No. And then a bored monotone calls to tell us on the phone that it's decided 'against us' - pay up. I told Edward to tell them, "I will pay, when you claw the money out of my cold dead hand."

And my mother-in-law was harassed during my father-in-law's passing to pay a fake dental, rather large bill. When he went Home, she told the caller, sure you can have the money, but you are going to have to go A LONG WAY to collect that.

When you sit to watch / read the news, which I don't. Because I find I used to know ALL the news and it was depressing. The world continues to turn without me reading the news. Thank God, literally for FB, because if something terrible happens someone is bound to comment and I'd rather hear about people I know anyway. And people love to tell you what horrible event has happened & then you have something 'fun' to chat about. On the vast news days we seem to travel in the car and pick up on that. News gives people who are ill time to think "I could do that". We need the news to condemn and be continually horrified over known mentally ill people doing horrible acts of violence.


And this brings us back to our quote -

John 3:16
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.

Did Jesus arrive to give this amazing gift to us - declaring us worthy to be with HIM in our human condition in an uninformed condition?? NO.

John 2:25
He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

God hears all our thoughts. Just perhaps this is what the space of the universe is. J.K Rowling might have hit upon the need for the space in the universe in Albus Dumbledore's Pensieve. In Jesus Christ the LORD, we are known from where we really live - all the way to the back of the universe. How wide, how high, how deep is His Love.

Why would Jesus Christ arrange His day to row across the Sea of Galilee to meet a specific person? This is an example of how the Father in the Prodigal Son runs to us.

What does God see in us? This is pretty clear.

John 1
All things were made through Him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was Life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

That's an amazing thought . Miracles are still occurring today. The Newspapers occasionally have this right.

'Miracle' recovery: Blind dad leaves doctors stunned by regaining his sight
25 Feb 2013 00:00 Paul Hill was told nothing more could be done for his vision - and then, incredibly, it started to come back

A week into a coma, as her condition deteriorated, doctors told her family to say a final goodbye to seven-year-old Charlotte her mom Leila, 31, climbed into the hospital bed with Charlotte to give her daughter one last song. A song both mom and daughter had often sung together. Her daughter suddenly began to smile. Astonished doctors and nurses told Leila to keep singing – before they were rewarded with yet another smile from Charlotte. Leila said: “It’s a miracle."

Aug 21 BELLBROOK, Ohio — A family in Ohio said they've witnessed a medical miracle, and a doctor said he's never seen anything like it. It was quiet outside of Christ's Church in Bellbrook on Tuesday. It was quiet inside, too. Tony Yahle, 37-year-old,said, "Earlier this month, Yahle's family found his breathing was off and he didn't have a pulse. Family members did CPR and he was eventaully taken to Kettering Medical Center.Yahle was "coded" for 45 minutes as team of medical personnel tried to stimulate his heart. He was declared dead the afternoon of August 5. Suddenly showed signs of life appeared as nurses prepared him for his family. He would be taken to OSU Medical Center by CareFlite.

"Everybody started telling me how it happened," Yahle said. "That's when I started to understand, you know, a miracle happened."

Right before he woke up, Yahle's 17-year-old son Lawrence spoke to him. "I pointed at him and I said, 'Dad, you're not going to die today.' I stood there for about a few more seconds. I was about to walk back to comfort the family..."

That's when Yahle started showing signs of a heartbeat.

"It went from hopeless to hope in an instant," Lawrence said.

Yahle's cardiologist said this case is beyond rare."In the last 20 years, I've never seen anybody who we have pronounced dead and actually the patient we saw with no activity once we stopped doing all our efforts and then for him to come back... I've never seen it," Dr. Raja Nazir said. "Actually, I've never heard of it."

LifeSiteNews: July 18, 2013 Family members and medical personnel at a hospital in Lindrina, Brazil, say they are stunned after a baby declared dead apparently came back to life after being placed on the altar in the hospital’s chapel. According to local news sources, Yasmin Gomes was born premature earlier this month, and almost immediately stopped breathing. Doctors attempted for nearly an hour to revive the girl, who weighed only 2.6 pounds, but after their attempts failed they declared the baby dead and issued a death certificate.

Only God can save the world. God so Loves the world, He is still the Light lighting mankind. And apparently, He still calls His creation...

Genesis 1:31
And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Psalm 24:1
The earth and everything it contains are the LORD's. The world and all who live in it are His.

John 5:17
Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

<><