Philippians 2 ~ every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

First Amendment to the United States Constitution - Freedom to Assemble.  

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 

Philippians 2

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind!

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Richard Mellon Scaife, the Mellon banking and oil heir, left his largest bequests to two foundations directing $758.9 million in bequests to two private foundations, a museum, and an environmental group.

John Santikos, head of a large Texas movie-theater chain, who gave an estimated $605 million from his estate to the San Antonio Area Foundation.

Walmart heirs Alice Walton (No. 7 on the list), Jim Walton (tied for No. 25), and Robson Walton (tied for No. 25), who collectively donated $407 million

Bill and Melinda Gates (No. 6), who gave $272 million to their foundation. Last year, the Gateses topped the list. giving $1.9 billion.

Warren Buffett, George Soros ($733 million), Michael R. Bloomberg ($462 million), Charles F. Feeney ($434 million), James and Marilyn Simons ($331 million), Hansjörg Wyss ($228 million), Gordon and Betty Moore ($220 million), and Eli and Edythe Broad ($202 million).

+ I am still applauding the Late John Kennedy (John John) for his stone soup ability to achieve team activation - hearts unite to give of their time, talents and funds in his endeavors.

Like a son from our Church Family, Military Man, Buck, he collected $3,000 for charitable health giving. Telling people in their donations to his Iron Man Triathlon - vote if he got to be superman. Noooo, he got to wear the clown suit. In turn "Inspiring others to run faster! Not to be beaten by the guy in the nose and multicolored clown suit and wig!"

Who else do you know is going to go in a darkened home where the husband is armed and the wife is in danger?



4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow,
 in heaven and on earth and under the earth,


11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,
so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

16 holding fast to the word of life,

 So like my Grandmother's hands...

 so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.

Camden, Arkansas ~ We Applaud You for Your Idea for our National Motto!!!

18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.

21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me,

 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,

26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.


27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.


 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.

29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men,

30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ,
risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Father God,

So many opportunities to be Thankful. So many opportunities to pray. Blessings for the lady at Home Depot, her help in getting me a paint can opener and being so patient. The man and wife next to me, getting ready to paint his Church office.

The family who cut down my tree that had half died, providing an example of family goodness. Thank God.

We lift up this Nation, in just such a crossroad. A great time to pray and be grateful for what so many people have given to this Nation.

We look in expectation to You, we have had a surprisingly huge storm with flooding and have rain in the forecast. We ask the Mercy of Jesus, here.

Jesus the Lord, Thank You for this time. Enabling me to survive childhood with medications. Enabling my first born to survive, when the Kennedy's lost a baby in the White House. Thank You for the Miracles these eyes have seen, witnessing to Your Salvation.

To know each day, as Your Mercies Renew ~ Jesus is Joy, Love, Peace, Goodness, Gentleness, Encouragement, Endurance, Character, Dignity, Self Control, asking Mercy over Sacrifice.

Jesus our Hero. Our Savior. His Willingness. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

John 15:4 ~ He remains in us.

John 15:4

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.


We should proclaim our beliefs gently enough to encourage people to want to visit.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him; bless His Name!

We understand visit kindly. Praying mercy upon all people and for our end, making a new path in Heaven.


1 John 2:6
Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.


1. Jesus wants to save the World in His salvation.
2. Jesus does not bend nor break a bruised reed.

3. Jesus says He will fulfill the Law where we fail in our attempt to please Him.
4. Jesus says He will not do away with the Law.
5. Jesus says Love is the fulfillment of the Law.
6. Jesus says when we go with Mercy over sacrifice, we please Him.

7. Jesus being Living Water permeates ... where a human cannot.

8. Jesus is not too difficult to grasp, the people who believe in Jesus came to Salvation by believing He is the Son of God and saves us from our sins.


Jesus asks us to be all things to all people. To remain centered. And to be salt and light. Not to be of the world, yet in the world. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.


God's Will is working by weaving together and making good for those who Love the Lord and work according to His Purpose.

To remain in the Holy Spirit is to believe the future is good in His Promises. A hope and a future. Being able to laugh at the times to come.


The people in the first century did not find this difficult.

The people going before us in faith did not find this difficult.  Hope, Faith, and Love. The greatest of these is Love.

Promises require belief. And God does not lie.

Father God,

This weekend is a time of muck cleaned out from flooding in our area.

We see the forecast is for rain. And ask Your mercy. And know we will find Your goodness.

Not all people are having a Holiday supported by the freedoms those who fought for them have provided. We ask Your blessing on those in need.

We know that You are present to help. As we grow in our faith journey.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Luke 1 ~ “May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Luke 1

1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.


5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”


26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.


39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”


46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
47
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
The Birth of John the Baptist

57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.


67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.




Yogi Berra said, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."



Life really breaks down into doing the Will of God with zeal.
Or doing the Will of God - wishing to have really heartily embraced His Will!


This Passage is very appropriate of our choices.

One man asked for more information and was struck by God's messenger to be mute.

His Cousin in Law, next receives another angelic visit and she says, "His Will for my life is good."


We have Living Parables.
In this type of event - I definitely pick - not to go first!!!

We have choices to make doing God's Word. Ask Him for His Plans for our lives. We must listen when Jesus asks us to do God's Will. We nurture God's Word and we seek mercy and goodness in doing the Law of the Lord.





We have Living Parables around us. Father God shows us personal integrity.



Each morning I begin my day putting my hands upon Edward, who has had a terminal diagnosis of severe 2 lobes and 1 brain lobe damage. He finds prayer reminds him and sometiems is overwhelming, but Edward is glad to know that every morning and every night I put my hands upon him and I pray. First the Lord's Prayer. Than Numbers 6. Then actually, the prayer for holy water. Why? Because we want the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need God. This is the way we end our day as well.

Frontal and Temporal Lobe Brain Disorder with Parietal anesthesia scarring from an operation is terminal from usually 8 years after behavior is modified. However 92% of those diagnosed with this are divorced far and away before diagnosis. The last article published from "Frontal and Temporal Disease" is called "My New Mother" and discussed how different the person's personality changes. Edward is blessed with some recovery since 2015. God is sending ways for Edward to live more comfortably and play sports every day.

Brain Damage is difficult. Edward IS doing amazing God grace Blessings every day. But sometimes you fall into Swiss Cheese. And you are not sure if you hit cheese or Swiss Cheese hole.



In 2008, our daughter Isabelle was born, but she died at birth and her face was purely joy to see Jesus.

We fully pray for Jesus to give Edward all the blessings of his soul feeding his mind until the day Father God has has written in His Book of Life for Heaven to be Home.


 


And actually, we are seeing blessings all around us. Recently, this week, we have a friend who had gangrene on his foot and his second toe. The Lord give him a miracle the day after our Prayer Class prayed.

I anticipate God will be Good to Edward. I have expectation of God's Goodness for Edward all of his life.



Our Choices. We had a family dinner celebration. Our oldest son, Cal, told us as he looks at millennials, he says he is doing well. He plans to never be divorced, he has witnessed his friends marry young and divorce. Cal plans to live as a married man when he finds that wonderful woman. He said we have modeled marriage to him. And he thanked us both.

Our oldest son says we have given him the desire to work and provide for himself. Cal said many who are young haven't learned this, but Cal has seen his parents work for what they have and learn to upholster, paint, stain, seal, bleach and scrub.

Our son has worked a complicated adult job for his 3 years out of college. His employer recently took him to New Orleans and invited him to pursue Maritime Law for his talents of diligence and clarity. Cal has begun to study this.

Then our oldest son went on to say, Thanks to both his parents for parenting. We have done so much young ministry and have had so many, many, many conversations on life choices and decisions. Our son says he will carry these many, many conversations and he will parent with all this diligence - his children will know these life choices are important in all aspects of our lives.






In Cal's Thanksgiving, I understand again why Father God says giving Thanks is the best thing we do for Father God. Thank You Father God for Your Love and care. Thank You for Jesus. Amen.




Our younger son, Alexander, told us he'd live at home to help out. Alexander is living at home and getting his master's from LS,  a degree offered from the Engineering Department, Construction Management. Alexander would like to take classes in Civil Engineering. He is a wonderful young man.














We all believe we are different than Zechariah and Mary. Far less holy. They faced exactly what we do in all our lives. Each day.





We choose to care for the people we promised to care for. We will take all of God's Love and Wisdom to the people who will have this wisdom and hear. We will let our words speak, "Life."

This passage tells us about Life!

Embrace God's Will for your life. Love the people He has given you.

John 1:4
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.









Father God,

Usually 99.9% of the time, every day this post is written, I lean upon the Holy Spirit to decide from several spots before I look at Scripture. And the Scripture are picked before I know what the Scripture is, and this will be the Post. I am grateful for the patterns I see from post to post. Seeing His ever present Joy in His giving His Word with Life.

Father, each day let us please you in the words of our mouth and our meditations of the heart. Please give Your mercy, grace and Love covering us in Your Name, Jesus, when our flaws, mistakes and sins are present. We want to pick Your Way, Truth and Life with Your Power and Glory helping us.

Father God, help us each day to follow the wisdom You give us to be the people who lean upon You in faith. Let us truly embrace the Will of Jesus for our lives.

Abbe, You have the Words of eternal life. You are the Power of God and of Scripture. We ask Your Good Will to bless us all with Hope and Future. Knowing that this is today and today is our life. We ask blessings upon this day in You for our loved ones. 


Be our rock we rely upon and our Comfort and Helper. We will mediate on You, Abba, and Your Law of Love day and night. Every day.  Amen in Jesus the Lord.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves!  †

Blessings of His Love and Care for Us in Jesus Christ the Lord.