Giving Thanks is an Attitude, not a Holiday!!!

My Wonderful Mother-in-Law Celebrated Her Family Birthday!

 

My son, Cal, just doesn't exactly tell you when the picture is going to be snapped!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 5:20
Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 134

1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord

who minister by night in the house of the Lord.

2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary

and praise the Lord.

3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,

he who is the Maker of heaven and earth

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

God gives us all our gifts. What alone can we do or say to bless HIM that HE has not given us? Thanks. Today I started to moan and mumble. Well, that comes from not giving thanks.

Father GOD thanks for my blessings when I ignore my blessings, I give into falling into spoiled thinking. Thanks for Kimberly we first spoke to at The Woodlands about the trees. Her eagerness to help. And Devon, his agreements. And his confidence in our reports.

Father God thank You for my mom who is so willing to help and to pray. Father God thank You for my cousin who says mannn that's not right and helps. And being paid for the Guardianship, my cousins who helped. And for Tony, he is an encourager!

Thank you for the welcome we had encouraging us to visit my small but loved little Town.

And cousins, thanks for some REAL help with Edward's business. I have to laugh, Edward is happier than ever. And for Edward's sense of humor at Edward's ribbing.

And my Gardere family. Wow L we spoke and isn't Baby Robert a wonder in his good, loving behavior. And my sister in laws - hey - it's like we are like - Family! Love. And much Love to Judy for our understanding and Love in our Sunday conversation. Thank YOU LORD for such a good event and how lovely to see people so vibrant and radiant in their seventies and higher. Father God the joy in seeing the older generation Going FORTH in HIM. So sorry I didn't get to speak to Tina McBee and the Hammacks. Aww.

Blessings on the lady who said don't pray for me and we do pray for. The Light in her is shining and we both know that. And my cousin in laws who we enjoyed wool gathering about antique businesses.

For that Alex Hughes and Kathy. Alex shows up and fixes things. Alex doesn't fully know but all those actions toward his brother and for my family - are the actions of one who loves HIM. God bless Alex for his humor in all the honesty I give him. And his bounce. Blessings on Alex.

Bless Kirk Beaumont, who knows how that air conditioning works and moves fast to fix that all up. And know how to bless us even more by taking up fried chicken. Bless and encourage Cindy and Kirk Beaumont. How many of us are so totally unaware that their blessing our Church with Kirk's vacation to work for the Church is sooo appreciated. For years and years. When you give like that - God never forgets. Blessings on the joy they have given all their children and the marvelous work to be repeated in the generations to come, in their grandchildren. That is a Fine Example to us all about building Legacy. Cindy Beaumont with the face reflecting HIS Love, moves and loves the Church in ways she is completely unaware of.

OH man, Lord, only went we give Thanks does the bounce come back full swing. Thanks FATHER GOD!!! Never before have my problems been fix the Porsche scratch oops I made and how to have the house professionally cleaned. Thank You Lord for the blessing of prosperity. Thanks for Kurt who listens to new life, new thinks and a gives Good advice with proper amount of snap. (No Kurt there is no way I'm cutting my hair. And it looked marvelous the next day. A tart Thanks SO Much, with real gratitude too.) And thanks to Kurt for medical advice. You know Father God, doctors love to give free advice. Continue to bless Kurt. For the blessing Angie is to work with people and pray as she types those Court Documents. Angie's prayers have blessed Edward. Lord, the unsung Texas heroes don't rest. Angie sees first hand sexual predators in Texas are put back into the system very fast. And the court reporter prays as she types the evidence. And this - for Terry Spikes giving such beautiful blessings. And the Conroe Policeman who bowed and Texas waved his head at me. Made my day.

AND DORA!! Lord thanks for the bounce of WHAT and freedom to say what one thinks with acceptance. Good people give good bounce. Bless Jeanette Lord, she has had illness with looking to you. Her Joy in You. Jeanette has the Gift of Prayer. Bless the bounce in Mary Ann! And always Teri. Everyone loves to give thanks for Teri and her diligence, earnestness and fall down humor. And Cindy who seems to appear at the right moment to warmly encourage. And the blessing of Nancy, who has a NEW outlook on live and says her eighties as a BRIDE are Fabulous! And Annie who always glows like Cindy Beaumont does. And actually so does Bishop Sam Halsey. Annie, you need to get in on these prayers because.... When WE PRAY HERE, WE ARE GETTING ANSWERS AND BLESSINGS!!! Thank you LORD JESUS. Amen.

For the dignity I've seen in Agapita and Dora serving their community as light!

And for my friends who call on me and tell me they love me. We don't see all our lives but I am going Forth rejoicing in blessings of love and care!!! You know who you all are and you know you are blessed in my heart in love and in my prayers.

For the gentleman who works at Starbucks and is so kind. And the lady giving us free beverages at Chick Fillet. And the Jason's Deli person too. God bless you all for kindness is so about we bless ourselves when we bless others. God is sneaky like that. Wow. Thanks Father GOD. And the Sam's Clerk telling me - from Him - "Rejoice in the day! Find what HE does to make each day sufficient!" Blessings to her.

And Thanks, Father God, for my mom. We might just slug things out, but wow I saw the blessings of her return to Dallas she was moving at light speed for her increase in the joy she finds in her life.

And I'm praying for Paul and Karen to return. They encourage others just by their attitudes and joy bubbling up from the back onto their faces. And for Clark and the Lewis' who have put together with good care a good pastoral group.

And always the Needlepoint Group for the joy of being real!

The blessings of God are always there, we just tend to tuck our chin in and fret. LORD THANK YOU FOR YOUR BLESSINGS!!! Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen. And AMEN.

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Matthew 22 ~ 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Matthew 22

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. 

4 "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'

5 "But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 


11 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.

13 "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen." 


15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?";


18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" 

21 "Caesar's," they replied.

Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24 "Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh.

27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"

29 Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?"

"The son of David," they replied.

43 He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, 44 " 'The Lord said to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet." '

45 If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?" 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

When we read Jesus says the greatest of the commandments is Love - loving the Lord with all our hearts, soul and mind; love our neighbor as ourselves. It brings an awareness to me that I will see glimpses of this in myself, but it isn't within me to be loving all the time. Jesus brings us this gift to know it isn't all about the rules, it is the message of love. Why set this standard of unselfishness? Because it is God's example.

He says 1 John 4: 19
We love because he first loved us.


Romans 8 (The Message)
1-2 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.



Father God doesn't ever ask us to save ourselves by being good enough, He offers to love us and fill us with His Love.


In dilemmas about fair.... This parable is about unfair meeting Holy. We get so tangled up in fair versus unfair, as Christians, we feel like throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Tell the truth, hurt feelings, tell an implication, make the transition smooth.

When pressed to the wall. Believe in God to act when we ask. Seek what justice is. Be merciful. Be honest. And let God handle what HE believes the good is. God is telling us about His invitation to Heaven and people will not answer Him.

What Irony. Jesus sets out to die for us, not only does HE set His disciples in Caesarea to tell of His Church to be in Rome, but He is telling us after He does this incredible offer of salvation...people just go along with their merry, bumble about lives.

He is GOD of the living. And in this Scripture tells us life is hard, and HE fully understands.

God expects us to love ourselves. He says so right here. Right after we love HIM, we are to be Like David. Expect we are the anointed of GOD. IN Faith.


Lord, Help me to be Psalm 81. I will open my mouth wide with expectation to fill that. In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

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Zechariah 14 ~ Holy to the Lord

Zechariah 14

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea ^{[Dead Sea]} and half of them to the western sea ^{[Mediterranean Sea]}. It shall continue in summer as in winter.

9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

13 And on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.

20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.

Another obscure Old Testament telling us the Lord is Holy. Asking us in faith to be Holy for Him.

People heard difficult things from Jesus, and we don't even debate Transubstantiation any more. However many of the 72 disciples He sent out left upon hearing God has a plan and doesn't use a lot of PR.

John 6
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”


60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?


67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.


God would not want us to use Him for our gain. And in fact the obscure parts of Holy Scripture point to Him.

Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17, Luke 19:46
He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

Lord, Your plan is not ours. Jesus told us to always pray with Hope. Lord, let Your plan for my life be for a hope and a future. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Encourage, me guide, lead me, that as You dwell in me and I live and move and have my being in You, that You would find my soul a good place for You to dwell. Let all aspects of me be open to You. In Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

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Psalm 128 ~ your children will be like olive shoots around your table

Psalm 128

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!
² You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
⁴ Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.

⁵ The Lord bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
⁶ May you see your children's children!
Peace be upon Israel!

This weekend, I was very fortunate to have both sons travel to spend time with me. One son complains a lot and I sometimes feel like he should have a mute button. Yet he is the one who laughs, talks, sings and if you are getting gasoline in a downtown area around a man flapping his arms and dancing, towards dark, he is the one who is going to get out of the car with you. He struggles with his faith - he did homeless work in Atlanta and a homeless man chased him and the whole group through a mall. He feels like a lot of Christian people aren't much fun and are judgmental. He has a new friend, and she is telling him about Jesus. I am Profoundly Grateful. Thank You, God. We pray for that relationship to grow to Good, or draw them further along the path to His Plan.

My other son has a lot of artistic talent and draws a group of people around him. He usually has 3 or 4 good kids around him all the time. He has had three long time girlfriends. He is not as likely to talk as much, but he has amazing amounts of patience. My second son is still disappointed with God not giving infant Isabelle more time with us. He feels God ignores him and it is all rather pointless. He rarely gets angry - we say you'd have to hit him with a brick to make him angry. I think he was born with this, but this has been a real blessing to our family. He deals fairly and well with his brother; he calms all of us down when we get into our yelling moods. And we yell a lot. We are all fairly loud. But he is the guy who keeps the car safe when the homeless man is dancing outside! And he has an attribute of the Lord, when you need him, he is going to arrive and have compassion.

I read a book called "Walking with Arthur" - it was one of those sweet, moving books that stays with you. It has been part of my prayer life since I read it - I pray for the people who are so relaxed, humble in their faith that they make the world a better place. For years, I've ended my prayers asking God to send us more people like this one to each of my loved ones.

And I am feeling blessed all around.

One thing I notice as I talk to them, we are all a work in progress. We depend upon the LORD. And prayer is always a needed component. May the Lord bless us with Arthurs. Prayers for my family are always appreciated. Thank You, Father God. You show up in your tender loving care. In Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

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Ezekiel 11 ~ you shall know that I am the Lord

Nebula Heart

Ezekiel 11

The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3 who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.”


5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. 6 You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat, and this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. 8 You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. 9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. 10 You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord. 11 This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, 12 and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

13 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

14 And the word of the Lord came to me: 15 “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’

17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. 24 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

The Scriptures tell us there will be a Third Temple. Which annoys some Biblical Scholars because they do not count the continual rebuilding of the Exiles Temple as the 'Second Temple'. And there is the continual debate regarding the original Temple placement. Which Passover is the perfect placing for the altar in the Temple of Jerusalem to face the rising sun. One thing is clear, easterly facing altars were unique to the Hebrew religion of Judaism. Pagan temples were oriented in other directions.

Exekiel has forty-eight chapter and East is discussed at least eight times. Altars to Jehovah, I Am, face East. Towards the rising Sun. And water, water pours away from the Temple.

All of the Bible points to Jesus Christ the only Son of God.

Jesus first declared his kingship to the Samaritan Woman at the Well. It is a very corner aspect of what He wants from us. Ezekiel had this vision far from the Temple. When all seemed very bleak for people with nothing left to them, only faith. Ezekiel continues to tell a conquered, hopeless people to look toward God, expect Him. This is a theme of Scripture, expect Him.

What an amazing thing Faith is. Expecting God to act. The personality of Jesus Christ flows from these lessons of Faith. And Jesus said some pretty amazing things. God says the work He gives mankind is to believe Him.

Jesus told us imperatively:

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.


Jesus is telling us HE is central to God's plan. John, the beloved disciple begins as Jesus being Life. The Life was the Light of Men.

John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 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.


Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Jesus never was employed by the Temple. Yet the Temple was built to reflect His Glory. Jesus threw out people in the thirty-six area Temple when He drove the people He labeled as thieves out. Why aren't we continually amazed Jesus was this empowered. That is vast area.

Ezekiel proclaimed, in faith, the Temple would exist again. Jesus proclaimed the same, with fewer boundaries. His ministry was openly proclaimed to a woman, a Samaritan woman. Here Jesus laid his foundation. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Oddly several times, Ezekiel tells of water flowing from the Temple. The returning exiles would throw out the Samaritan remnants worshiping the best they could.

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Jesus takes from Ezekiel proclaiming His Sovereignty. He goes to a woman at the well. John records this meeting in the Fourth Chapter of John's Gospel.

"whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”


John 4
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

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John 3:1-13 ~ Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit

John 3:1-13

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.


Well, can't we all relate some - Born Again Nicodemus wants to visit Jesus comfortably - not to be committed. And if you look at the passage with seeing Jesus is recorded as Wisdom, laughing at creation, you see Jesus was being a bit snippy with Nicodemus. And you have to hand it to Jesus, when Jesus is firm with someone He has style and form and zest and verve.



So Nicodemus looks in a mirror and discovers his own verve. Christians are expected to grow up. Believed a lie so everything that I know, Knew I wasn't who I wanted to be I was living life the way that I wanted But my eyes reminded me I'm not free


John 7:49-51
But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”


Really Grow Up. This is what it is, this is who I am
This is where I finally take my stand
I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl
I met the one with two scarred hands

John 19:39
Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.


So... the horror of being born again. Because we are supposed to grow up. And if we bent five degrees this way, embrace a hands up high posture, with bunny ears on, and stand on one left foot....
Our better self will do better.

What a laugh. God gives us talents. To be who we are. He does not ask us to be turned inside out. He asks us to make decisions knowing we are transparent to Him. Our Christian path should be envisioned with great longing. God would not parent us by thunking us on the head. My mom moved her seat up in the car as far as she could and raised it up a foot. For all practicality, she actually looked as if she was riding on the hood. And she was thrilled to be there. I was annoyed and didn't even know why. My immediate reaction was to say to myself - if you were a better Christian - your initial reaction would be more gracious. That's so wrong. It is genuinely annoying to have someone block your total vision when you are driving. And we don't give ourselves room to have thought processes sometimes.

God isn't hoping we become St. Augustine. He is hoping we grow into loving people. To deal with Gonna tell you what I believe, This is what it is, this is who I am. And say I'm a Child of GOD. 

God, our Father, the One who Loves us best, really is not interested in "Stepford Wives" Children.  Or last generation bunny-eared tv contortionists trying to reach 'a signal'. God is a real parent. Loving us to do as good parents tell you, "Give a good, firm handshake, look the person in the eye, try your best. Best foot forward." 

We die to self, but Live to Him is not "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." And, please, GOD, not Homer Simpson's neighbor howdy doodle. Instead is like Moses, being so filled we radiate light. Remember the Nativity pictures you've seen where Jesus the Baby radiates Light? That is what Living to Him is about. Would Moses have turned down this experience???

Giving Him the best of
Everything that's left of
The life inside this man
I've been born again

Life continually deals us examples of less than perfection. One of my entertaining Pregnancy Assistance Center friends said her daughter has glow in the dark shorts that are a joke left over from "Phantom of the Opera". The shorts say, as they glow in the dark, "Come to the Dark Side. We have Cookies."

And you know that's funny & we all enjoyed that. Unfortunately, the cookies are the kind your computer eats and then you have more than indigestion. And on and on and on. Be careful what we direct our lives toward. (Um, Like Video Games Alexander - that's just dreadful for someone with such artistic talent.)

Yesterday I wrote of some fine examples, in real life that were the glossy side. I had two grandmothers who insisted on being called Grandmother. One was not going to be outdone by the other. And they were very different and very much the same. Missing out on knowing each other in pride alone. Well, you have to hope they made up in Heaven. Anyway, one Grandmother was so good and so holy and so always right and always letting you know - finally you quit telling her your life because there was always "the comment." Forget it. Nevah mind.

The other Grandmother was a lovely woman who had three of her four great-grandchildren named after her. She was the one who would go in and sit beside you and look. Until you woke up and you were overjoyed to see her again and that made your parents mad because they didn't want you awake in the middle of the night, but she kept telling you, with sincerity, "I'm so proud of you." "You do this well." "God bless you." - for every time you sneeze and then sometimes a rather surprising long prayer. And she had an amazing, astonishing passage to going HOME. And she just spoke to HIM saying, "I'm ready to go Home now Father" in her very southern, receiving line.

I'm here to tell you both Grandmothers were amazing women to HIM. But we learned far more from the Grandmother who knocked herself out to be love. Knowing full well the other Grandmother was a saint.

An Example of God. He has gone back to Heaven, creating a NEW Heaven for us. (Sheol was the Heaven before the New Covenant. God has knocked Himself out to be Love.) And we think we have to dour up and lean to the left and stand on one foot to be more pristine for Him.

And I don't want to leave my first Grandmother out here. She had the most amazing lightning show the Dallas Morning News reported as never seen before. She was that kind of faith to Him. And she trembled at many things. It was her faith that was so important to her. She just didn't relate that well to explaining beyond raptures of exclamations. And then when we buried her next to my grandfather, after fifty years of wearing a wedding band for a man who'd gone on HOME, the flowers of the Texas plains were astonishingly beautiful. A carpet of yellow and bright blue sky, gentle breeze, gentle light.

Jesus told us pray mightily. He said even a corrupt Judge would listen to pleas continually made. How do we really think Jesus is going to show up.... Jesus is going to meet us exactly were we truly live. And HIS Love reaches to the back of the universe, beyond ...

Knowing we make the best of circumstances far from perfection where a King of Kings is born in a barn, placed in a feeding trough. Where people refused to house a pregnant young mother tired from traveling. For a government not of their choosing. Not even when a star shown so brightly, they were bound to be awake anyway...  No red carpet at all.

Giving Him the best of
Everything that's left of
The life inside this man
I've been born again

This is who I am
I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl
I met the one with two scarred hands

2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

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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.

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

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