Feed Your Faith

"Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death." I read this adage on a sign today and wanted to hang on to it. Good thought, huh? It's easy to feed doubt, but not so natural to feed our faith and starve doubt to death. But that's my plan and I intend, by the grace of God, to stick to it! How about you?

How Are You Clothed?

I was blessed by this devotion in my Springs in the Valley book:

There are some Christians who always seem to be kept on scant measure. Their spiritual garments are threadbare, their whole bearing that of people who are poverty-stricken and kept on short allowance--hard up, and on the ragged edge of want and bankruptcy. They come through by the "skin of their teeth" and are "saved so as by fire."

There are other souls who "have life more abundantly." Their love "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things," and "never faileth." Their patience has "all long suffering with joyfulness." Their peace "passeth all understanding." Their joy is "joy unspeakable and full of glory." Their service is so free and glad that duty is a delight. In a word, this life reaches out into the infinite as well as the eternal, sailing on the shoreless and fathomless seas of God and His infinite grace.

WAIT

This is the poem several of you requested at the Assembly. The author is unknown.

Desperately, helplessly, longingly I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait".
"Wait? You say wait! " my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers. I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked and am claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance and You tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a 'yes'—a go-ahead sign
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.
And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!”
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting.... For what?"
He seemed then to kneel and His eyes wept with mine
And he tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
All you seek I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want - But you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove
You'd know that I give and I save.... (for a start)
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart;
The glow of My comfort late into the night
The faith that I give when you walk without sight
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God who makes what you have LAST.
You'd never know should your pain quickly flee
What it means that "My grace is sufficient for Thee."
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true
But, Oh, the loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!
So be silent My child and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late
My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT."

I want to say "THANK YOU" to all of you who expressed your love and assured me of your continual prayers for me and my husband. I'm acutely aware of my total dependence upon the Lord and complete lack of sufficiency in my own strength or wisdom. Your prayers touch the throne of God and He is faithful to bless us with strength to stay on the battlefield and endure as "good soldiers." Like the song says, "In the fiercest part of battle, when my feet don't want to stay, I will trust You, Lord." That's my desire.

August 2009

This has been an incredibly busy summer. We had 8 house guests for the 2 weeks of BTI and feel so blessed to be able to provide a place for friends/family to come to. BTI culminating with Heritage Day was a BIG blessing. Since that weekend of June 13, we attended 5 State/Regional Conventions and one Family Camp in 6 weeks time. There were numerous things to attend to here at home between all those activities. Thank God for HIS strength and the health He's blessed us with. We know we have no strength or health of our own--it's all due to Him. Now we're in the mad dash to get everything ready for the Assembly. Considering the viciousness of the attacks from the enemy, I'd say this is going to be another outstanding Assembly. Like the old song says, "The greater the battle, the sweeter the victory." Amen! This ought to be one sweet victory!!!

I'd like to share my devotion from a few days ago. It was a particular blessing. It comes from Springs in the Valley by Mrs. Charles Cowman:

"If God has called you to be really like Christ, He may draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put on you such demands of obedience that He will not allow you to follow other Christians and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

"Other Christians, who seem very religious and useful, may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it: and if you attempt it you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

"Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their success, of their writing, but the Holy
Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you begin it He will lead you into some deep mortification, that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

"Others will be allowed to succeed in making money...but it is likely God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, and that is a helpless dependence on Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury.

"The Lord will let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hid away in obscurity because He wants to produce some choice fragrant fruit for His coming glory.

"He will let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him, and get the credit for it, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing.

"The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you...rebuking you for little words and feelings, or for wasting time.

"God is an infinite Sovereign: He has a right to do as He pleases with His own.

"Settle it forever, then, that you are to deal directly with the Lord Jesus--that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, chaining your hand or closing your eyes in ways that He does not deal with others.

"Then, you will have found the vestibule of heaven.

"Others may. You can not!"

Has it Been THREE Months?

It's been nearly 3 months since I last posted here. My, how time flies when you're having fun--or when you're just really, REALLY busy.
I thank God for His sustaining power, for His strength, for the health He's blessed us with and most of all for the spiritual health and strength. I thank God for His Living Word. He speaks to my heart and soul on a regular basis through His divine Word of God, the Holy Bible. His Word never changes and it never passes away. Praise God!
Back in "the old days" before Brother Smith had to be in an office 40 hours a week, or out of town much of the time, we used to work on remodeling our house together. We bought a little run down 800 sq. ft. log cabin in the mountains of Colorado and transformed it into a 1,700 sq. ft. log home--building on a new addition and totally remodeling every square inch of the old part. When we got moved to Virginia we dove into remodeling a neglected, but "great bones" house. It turned out beautifully and we enjoyed working on it, and had it almost totally redone in the mere 2 years we lived in it. Then we moved to Cleveland. We've been here 2 1/2 years and we're just finishing up on remodeling our FIRST room. Our remodeling career has suffered a severe blow and isn't likely to recover anytime soon. But, really, this remodeling project is the biggest, baddest one we will encounter with our home here. We completely gutted our master bath, moved walls and repositioned the door from the bedroom into the bathroom and made a humongous mess, but now it's all put back together and is looking beautiful! It's the only room in the house that is really "me." All other projects after this will be a piece of cake. I hope.
One of the big blessings of being here where God has placed us is that we've been able to go places and meet so many people we never would have otherwise. We went to Venezuela a couple of months ago and it was SUCH a blessing! I just LOVE worshipping the Lord with people of other cultures and languages because it's always a reminder that we serve the same God and we love the same Church and the same doctrine! Tomorrow at this time we will be in an airplane somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on our way to the Philippines. Who would have EVER imagined??? How exciting to be able to go visit with our saints there and hopefully be an encouragement to them and minister God's Word to them. It's daunting to think, however, that we will be flying over 18,000 miles on this trip! Unbelievable. Brother Ard and Brother Dupre do it all the time; surely we can survive this trip. They're both much older than we are. ;-)
It's exciting to see all the Lord is doing in and for The Church of God right now. People are "asking their way to Zion" and God is pouring out His blessings in local churches all over the world. Meanwhile, it's exciting as well to see the progress on the HQ Expansion Project. It's looking really beautiful over there,underneath all the sawdust that is. Brother Talley is doing an outstanding job of overseeing the project and we will have a truly first class addition in the near future. It's been a long time coming but I'm so thankful to God that it's made such tremendous progress in just the past 8 weeks or so. You're going to have to come see it!

Deep Roots

The following entry is today's devotion from Springs in the Valley. My copy of this devotional book was my great grandmother's and it's a cherished part of my personal library. This is a companion book to the more well known Streams in the Desert.

"Trees that brave storms are not propagated in hot-houses!

"The staunchest tree is not found in the shelter of the forest, but out in the open where the winds from every quarter beat upon it, and bend and twist it until it becomes a giant in stature.

"It requires storms to produce the rooting.

"Out on the meadow it stands to shelter the herds and flocks. The earth about the tree hardens. The rains do little good for the water runs off.

"But the terrific storm strikes. It twists, turns, wrenches, and at times all but tears it out of its place. If the tree could spek it might bitterly complain. Should nature listen and cease the storm process?

"The storm almost bends the tree double. It is wrath now. What can such seeming cruelty mean? Is that love? But wait!

"About the tree the soil is all loosened. Great cracks are opened up away down into the ground. Deep wounds they might appear to the inexperienced. The rain now comes in with it gentle ministry. The WOUNDS fill up. The moisture reaches away down deep even to the utmost root. The sun again shines. New and vigorous life bursts forth. The roots go deeper and deeper. The branches shoot forth. Now and again one hears something snap and crack like a pistol: it is getting too big for its clothes! It is growing into a giant! It is rooting!

"This is the tree from which the mechanic wants his tools made--the tree which the wagon-maker seeks.

"When you see a spiritual giant, think of the road over which he has travled--not the sunny lane where wildflowers ever bloom, but a steep, rocky, narrow pathway where the blasts of hell will almost blow you off your feet, where the sharp rocks cut the feet, where the projecting thorns scratch the brow, and the venomous serpents hiss on every side.

"The Lord provides deep roots when there are to be wide-spreading branches."

I think to have a true appreciation and vision of this devotion you have to be familiar with the western plains where trees may be few and far between. I've noticed since moving to the south where trees are EVERYWHERE that sometimes, totally unexpected and without a storm, a tree may just topple over! I suppose there's a whole different message to be gleaned from those incidents such as maybe a tree looking healthy on the outside, but inside being eaten up with disease or insects (anger? bitterness? unforgiveness? covetousness?) until one day it just crashes to destruction. But across the other side of the Mississippi it's common to see perhaps many, many acres of flat land or farm land with NO trees except maybe one lone tree out there. This tree is generally not a pretty tree, but knarled and twisted but with a substantial trunk and large limbs. You have to wonder how the tree got there in the first place, or why. Some speculate a farmer long ago planted a seed at the edge of his field so one day there would be a big shade tree to take a rest under when it was time to plow or harvest the field. Others say the seed was dropped by a bird and the tree grew as a result. Regardless of the beginning, there now stands a tree with deep roots that secure it in place and provide the necessary nourishment.

I especially was blessed by the part of the devotion talking about the big cracks in the hard soil around the trunk of the tree appearing as great wounds. Sometimes we may feel like we're all alone, braving the harsh elements, and that we're deeply wounded by the cruel winds and storms but it's those gaping wounds that allow the nourishing rains to penetrate all the way to the roots. Without the wounds, the roots wouldn't be accessible and no new growth would occur. Like the old saying, "No pain, no gain." But our Lord will sustain us and help us to grow and flourish as a result of enduring the storms. Praise God. I don't want to have suffered wounds in vain, but I want pain to be turned to gain! AMEN!

KJV Bible

Here's what I think about the KJV. There's been a lengthy debate at the one and only forum I visit, and my good friend Tammy Washburn is doing a magnanimous job of defending the KJV and she LOVES the debate. I, on the other hand, do NOT like debate. I'm no good at it. I'm just good at stating my opinion--not defending it. :-) Since this is a blog, not a forum, I will take the opportunity to share my opinion where I am the "queen" and can delete comments or posts whenever I like.
First of all, I feel it's very dangerous to allow questions or doubts enter our thoughts concerning God's truths. The devil is so good at planting seeds of doubt that can grow into full grown acceptance of heresy. Heresy, by definition, is an "opinion or doctrine at variance with the orthodox or accepted doctrine, esp. of a church or religious system." The KJV is the accepted, Assembly approved Bible for the English language. Therefore, for The Church of God member, the matter is settled.
When I read statements made by people I love, declaring the KJV is full of errors it hurts me deeply. My heart breaks. I love the Bible more than life itself, and to have it criticized and demeaned is very, very hurtful. It's something like telling a man his wife and kids are dumb and ugly. He wouldn't take too kindly to such words. Likewise, I don't take kindly to my Guidebook and Bread of Life picked at.
The question I have is: The folks who feel it so dreadfully important to point out "errors" in the KJV admit that there are no doctrinal errors or variations between any of the so called revisions made in the first century after the KJV was written--so why make such a big deal? Are there any "errors" in my Bible that could possibly prevent me from making it to heaven? However, there ARE errors in the other versions of the Bible that definitely could cause people to miss heaven. If the answer is "no" to there being any errors that could cause me to miss heaven, then WHY is it so important to discredit my Bible? Can anything good or righteous or edifying come from it?
My husband and I have been going through the book One Book Stands Alone, by Dr. Doug Stauffer. We also have the books by Gail Riplinger, which first caught our attention several years ago. The book we'll be going through next is King James Onlyism versus Scholarship Onlyism by Dr. Peter S. Ruckman. I understand this last book would REALLY stir the ire of the "educated crowd." The phrases "too smart for their own good" and "too big for their britches" come to mind. Childlike innocence is something to be envied. " Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein" (Luke 18:17). "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was" (2 Tim. 3:1-9). Ever learning...intoxicated with knowledge, they stagger, stumble and recklessly endanger other souls they come in contact with. It's scary.
Call me ignorant. Call me uninformed. Call me closed-minded. That's okay with me. I desire first and foremost to be pleasing to God and to TRUST His Word, regardless of what anybody else thinks, or thinks of me. I keep 1 Corinthians the first chapter in mind: "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh [the educated fools], not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world [those who have childlike faith to just BELIEVE without seeing proof, i.e. Heb. 11:1] to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised [O, how the "educated" despise folks who just BELIEVE and they feel they MUST destroy their belief], hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (vv.25-31). Jesus Christ IS the Word, and He is my righteousness, my sanctification and my redemption. Praise the Lord!
Okay. Well, there it is. A lot of other scriptures come to mind--all from the KJV, of course. ;-) The KJV is beautiful beyond compare. It makes me feel safe. I love the Word of God--the pure, unadulterated Word of God.

2008 is Almost History

The time has flown by so swiftly! Where did this year go?

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I have this personal rule I live by where "all things Christmas" are outlawed until the day after Thanksgiving, then it's full steam ahead Christmas from then till the 1st of the year. I'll be listening to nothing but Christmas music for the next month+. I think it's a shame the way Thanksgiving is just jumped right over and neglected these days. I remember when.....oh, never mind.

Although I love the Christmas season and I'm looking forward to the special holiday music, I can't help but keep Thanksgiving in my heart. God has been SO GOOD to me my entire life. I have no complaints. At church Wednesday night I was asked to sing a special. (Only because the moderator had forgotten to ask anyone and I'm about the only one they can count on to come up with a song in a moment's notice without getting violent.) ;-) Anyway, I sang "I've Got So Much to Thank Him For." The chorus says, "When I think of what He's done and where He's brought me from". As I sing that song and get to thinking about it, I seldom can sing it without crying. "Where He's brought me from"...He's led me through so many personal trials, circumstances, heart-changing situations and glorious victories! I look back and can see so many times that although I didn't understand what the purpose was at the time, I now know He was preparing me for what He knew was ahead. It's the same for each one of us. He knows what our future holds and He desires to mold us and make us into that perfect vessel to be used by Him.

As 2008 is coming to a close I desire to be fully surrendered to His perfect will and pliable in His hands--no resistance. I don't want to wait till January 1st to make my resolution to be fully His. May my every day be filled with gratefulness for His saving grace and mercy. It's mind boggling to realize He sent His Son, His ONLY Son, to die on the cross for MY sins. I'm SO unworthy of His love, but I'm SO grateful and I want to live my life in such a way as to prove my gratitude.

This is the season to ponder the wonder of the Christ Child coming to earth to live as a mortal man, then to suffer and shed His Own precious blood to (1) purchase our salvation, (2) sanctify us, (3) heal our bodies, and (4) purchase The Church of God. I'm so grateful for those 4 blessings and I want to take full advantage of each of them, so He won't have suffered in vain.

God bless you!

Love

The General Assembly theme this year was "The Beauty of Holiness" but we heard a LOT about love. How can there be any holiness without love? It's been said that if we were to condense the entire Bible down to only one word, it would be "love." God IS love. With that in mind, I came across the following excerpt in the book, "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and was touched by the truth of it. Take a look:
"We believe that we are hurt when we don't receive love. But that is not what hurts us. Our pain comes when we do not give love. We were born to love. You might say that we are divinely created love machines. We function most powerfully when we are giving love. The world has led us to believe that our well-being is dependent on other people loving us. But this is the kind of upside-down thinking that has caused so many of our problems. The truth is that our well-being is dependent on our giving love. It is not about what comes back; it is about what goes out!"

Victory On Top of Victory!!!

It's so wonderful to hear such GREAT reports from our Conventions and Camps! God has been SO GOOD to TCOG this year! Yes, we've had battles, but God has been so faithful to bring us through everything. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them ALL" (Psa. 34:19). The Treasury of David says this about it: "Through troops of ills Jehovah shall lead his redeemed scatheless and triumphant. There is an end to the believer's affliction, and a joyful end too. None of his trials can hurt so much as a hair of his head, neither can the furnace hold him for a moment after the Lord bids him come forth of it. Hard would be the lot of the righteous if this promise, like a bundle of camphire, were not bound up in it, but this sweetens all. The same Lord who sends the afflictions will also recall them when his design is accomplished, but he will never allow the fiercest of them to rend and devour his beloved."
I've been rejoicing with each report that has come in across TCOG, from the wonderful presence of the Lord being manifested at Camps and Conventions. Praise God for His marvelous works!
In the midst of the wonderful outpourings there is also a deep burden for the lost and erring souls who we love and miss. I believe God is stirring TCOG to intercede on their behalf. And God has already answered some of these petitions and some have made their way to an altar of repentance and restoration. PRAISE GOD!!!
At the VA/WV Convention this past weekend I was so blessed and stirred by Brother Byers' message. The part that hit home with me is the "all" part. He used the "greatest commandment" as his text scripture, "...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy mind" (Matt. 22:37). I truly desire to be TOTALLY and COMPLETELY surrendered to the Lord's will. I have no desires, no possessions, no loved ones, no houses or lands, or no dreams I'm not willing to surrender to the Lord. Have YOUR way, Lord. That's not something to be said lightly. I ask myself all those questions almost daily, "What if I lost my house? My husband? My children or grandchildren? Would I still serve You, Lord?" Nothing is more important to me than the Lord. Although the thought of actually losing any of those things, especially my family, is horrific; I know the Lord would somehow make a way for me and give me grace to go on. "The Lord never orders anything He can't pay for." I trust God with my life and my future. He's a GOOD, GOOD God and I truly believe every word of the Bible and all the promises that are contained therein!
The General Assembly will soon be here. I hope the membership of TCOG will consecrate themselves to prayer and fasting for God's divine will to be done throughout the Assembly! God be praised!

What If?

In preparing to teach a class this past week I came across a document in my computer saved as "MEDICINE." Curious what it was, I opened it and found that it had been created in 1996 and it was simply a list of various scriptures. At the time I had been suffering from a painful condition in my body for about a week. I had prayed and had asked for others to pray and the Lord had relieved the pain considerably already. As I began to read through the scriptures I could feel the Lord touching my body as if they were a divine pain-killer! Praise the Lord! By the next day ALL pain was gone! As I was reading I began to wonder why I hadn't gone to God's medicine chest and got some of this medicine earlier. It was amazing to me that this document has been in my computer all these years, but this is the first time I remember ever checking it out to see what it was. It's got Jonathan's name on it, so I'm certain he's the one who created this document 12 years ago while he was living at home, before he got married. God must delight in planning and setting up "circumstances" to bless His children. He planted that document in my computer and it's been sitting there for 12 years "for such a time as this." Amazing. And divine. It got me to thinking . . . WHAT IF everyone in The Church of God quit spending money and confidence in all the over the counter drugs, not to mention prescription drugs, and trusted God as their only Physician? How much mission money would it generate if the money that is now spent on human doctors and medicines was funneled into God's work? But God doesn't need money. It's all His anyway. The main benefit would be the spiritual wealth the individuals would accumulate by putting their full trust in the Lord instead of "the arm of flesh." Why don't we see more miracles? Because we attempt to fix all our own problems and do things man's way instead of unreservedly putting all faith, confidence and trust in God. God's ways DO work. As more and more of us push aside "logic" and cleave to faith and TRUST in God we will see more and more miracles! The definition of miracle is: "An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God."
If you're needing a dose of medicine today, the Holy Bible is FULL of pain killers, antibiotics, anti-depressants, sleeping pills and any other need you may have. It doesn't cost any $$$, but it does cost commitment and faith. Oh, but it's SO WORTH IT!
Just to alleviate your curiosity, here's a list of the scriptures Jon had saved under the title of "MEDICINE." They sure worked for me last week!

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Prov. 3:5,6).

“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” (Psa. 118:6).

“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (Psa. 91:11).

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psa. 27:1).

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb. 13:8).

“For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after” (Jer. 30:17).

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3John 1:2).

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (2 Pet. 5:7).

“. . . Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord” (1 Chron. 28:20).

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Psa. 103:2,3).

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isa. 41:10).

“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Mark 13:31).

“. . . What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24).

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed!” (Isa. 53:5).

“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee” (Ex. 15:26)

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).

“Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise” (Jer. 17:14).

“Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1).

“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease” (Matt. 10:1).

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18).

I thank the Lord for godly children who are an encouragement and who have been faithful to point others, including their parents, to trust in Christ for EVERYTHING. God's ways DO work, and He DOES reward those who "diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6).

The Spirit of Joseph

I'll share some of the Bible Pathway thoughts that have touched me in January:
"You may weep as you read the biography of Joseph--foreshadowing Christ. Both are objects of special love by their fathers; hated by their brethren; rejected as rulers over their brethren; conspired against; sold for silver; condemned though innocent; and raised from humiliation to glory by the power of God. Joseph remained faithful to God, even with compassion forgiving his brothers.
"...in time, God wonderfully blesses all who are faithful to Him. When we remain faithful to Christ and allow Him to be Lord and Master of our lives, God will wonderfully bless us too.
"One of the great needs today among Christians is to demonstate the spirit of Joseph. When one knows the God of Joseph, it really doesn't matter that we are misunderstood, unjustly maligned, or cruelly abused. With a heart filled with love, we can say; As for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good (Gen. 50:20).
"Avoid the poison of bitterness by realizing the Lord is working through your offenders and your circumstances to express His love."
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled" (Heb. 12:14,15).

We've all, at one time or another, been "misunderstood, unjustly maligned, or cruelly abused." But how we react to those instances proves what's really on the inside. And just because we don't lash out and retaliate in obvious anger doesn't necessarily mean we're not secretly harboring bad feelings down deep inside. When those hard times come and some individuals seem to take pleasure in hurting us or those we love, we've got to be certain that the blood of Jesus Christ washes ALL seeds of bitterness out of the secret places in our heart.
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Eph. 4:29-32).
Which one of us is deserving of the blood Jesus shed to purchase our salvation? Christ forgave us of our sins when there was nothing we could possibly do to be worthy of such a gift. We, then, must turn around and forgive others their trespasses against us. The Lord's Prayer says, " And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12). It sounds to me like God will forgive us in relation to how we forgive others. If we refuse to forgive our debtors, will God forgive us? I don't want to take any chances! I want my conscience to be clear and my Unforgiveness Bank to be EMPTY. I know far too many people (and even many professing Christians) who have made way too many deposits in their Unforgiveness Bank Account, and they don't ever make any withdrawals. That's one bank account that needs to be closed out, once and for all! Amen!

Noah Found Grace

It's a new year. For over a decade (I don't remember exactly how long) I've read through the Bible on the even numbered years and on the odd numbered years I read through other devotional books to supplement Bible reading for my morning devotional times. This year I'm using the Bible Pathway guide to reading through the Bible. I used them once before but it's been over 15 years. I'm really enjoying the devotional thoughts that accompany each day's reading. There are some very thought provoking and inspiring insights in these devotionals. On January 3rd this was part of the devotional: "Noah was a striking contrast to Adam and Eve. Noah was surrounded by a generation defiled by sin, yet he obeyed all that the Lord commanded him (Gen. 7:5). Adam and Eve were in a perfect environment filled with the blessings of God but chose to ignore God's Word. Noah's obedience brought blessing to the entire world, while Adam and Eve's disobedience resulted in unending sorrow and suffering to the entire world. Noah stood as a testimony that man cannot use environment of circumstances as an excuse for choosing to sin."

That's an interesting point: Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world, but they chose to sin even without any peer pressure to do so. Noah lived in a vile, evil environment but he chose to "go against the grain" and do "all that the Lord commanded him." The Scripture says, "...Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God" (Gen. 6:9). We don't live in a perfect world, that's for sure. We DO live in an evil, vile world where sin abounds. But I desire to be known by God as perfect. If Noah could be perfect in God's sight, as well as several others listed in the Bible, I can be perfect, too. I'll never be perfect in other people's sight and that's okay. I'm only concerned about being perfect in GOD's sight. He sees my heart, He knows my thoughts, He know's the real me even better than I do. My daily prayer is "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psa. 51:10) and "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psa. 139:23,24). Another quote from Bible Pathway is, "Some Christians are not concerned with hearing the voice of God since they are too interested in hearing other voices." Lord, help me to tune out the voices and opinions of others and be only tuned in to YOUR voice." I thank God for the Word of God--the Bible IS God's voice. What's amazing to me is that as many times as I've read through the entire Bible, each time I do there are different verses that stand out and minister to me and each year I highlight something new in my Bible. I figure if I live long enough I'll have the WHOLE Bible highlighted! :-)

Attitude of Gratitude

I came across this excerpt of an article by Adrian Rogers and thought I'd share it:

"Do you have difficulty with bitterness, selfishness, self-pity, negativism, or pride? An attitude of gratitude can change those things and literally transform your life.
"There are four levels of living. People in the lowest level constantly complain. These folks are always griping and complaining. Rather than being humbly grateful, they're grumbly hateful.
"The second level is just a tad higher. These are not people who are constantly complaining, they just never give thanks for anything. They take things for granted.
The third level is that person who thanks God for the obvious blessings, when things are going good and everything is fine.
"But the forth level, the highest level, is those who give thanks always for all things. This is the attitude that will change your life."

I want to have the 4th and highest level of gratitude, how 'bout you?

When Jesus Looks

This poem was read tonight at our VLB Service and it was such a blessing to me. It spoke to my heart and made me desire a deeper walk with the Lord. Holly Talley is our VLB leader and she does such an awesome job with her services. She talked tonight about "the apple of His eye" and brought out that if you look deep into someones eyes you can actually see your own reflection, except when there's not enough light and there are shadows. When there are shadows in our spiritual life the Lord is unable to see His own reflection when He looks into our eyes. It was a very stirring analogy.

When Jesus looks upon my life
What picture does He see?
Does He see His own reflection,
Or does He just see me?

Does He see His likeness,
The product of His hand;
And does He see a Christian
Willing to take a stand?

What about the other folks
I meet along the way;
Do I show them Jesus,
To brighten up their day?

When someone looks into my eyes
Can they truly see
That calm and gentle peace of God
That dwells inside of me?

When I reach out and shake a hand
Is He right there in my grip?
Can they feel the strength from God
That steadies if we slip?

When folks are in my presence,
Do they know His Spirit's there?
Can they see that He's the One
Who leads me everywhere?

When other people think of me,
What is on their mind?
Do they think of Jesus Christ
So gentle and kind?

I try to be like Jesus
Every single day;
Spreading love and kindness
All along my way.

And someday when I'm face to face
With the Lord who set me free,
Will He see His own reflection,
Or will He just see me?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's wishing everyone a safe and blessed Thanksgiving Day. Each one of us have so many blessings to thank God for. No matter our circumstances we all have been blessed with the opportunity to be saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost, thanks to the shed blood of Jesus Christ. "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving" (Col. 4:2).

Ladies' Retreats

I was privileged to attend 2 Ladies' Retreats this month. The first one was in TN and was such a blessing! The theme was "The Beauty of Holiness." All of the classes and messages were inspiring and urged us to look inside for the true beauty of holiness. It's entirely possible to LOOK holy on the outside and not be holy on the inside, but if there's true holiness on the inside, the outside will reflect that truth. I try to examine myself each and every day as I meet with the Lord and pray Psalm 51:10 and Psalm 139:23,24. Each and every day I pray these scriptures. I always try to add in Psalm 141:3, for my protection and the protection of others. ;-) Anyway, back to Ladies' Retreat. The second Retreat was in Colorado. It's been 4 years since I've been able to attend a CO Retreat and I was SO HAPPY to be able to be back with familiar faces and surroundings. Although the Retreat was held at a new campground nobody had ever been to before, the Rocky Mountains were familiar and the Big Horn Sheep Canyon was certainly familiar. It brought tears to my eyes to be back "home." Home . . . I've had a lot of homes (I'm not talking about houses so much as "areas" where I've lived). I get nostalgic when I go to visit ANY of my former homes, and central Colorado is certainly no exception. I was especially blessed to be able to get together with some of my friends from Howard, CO where we lived for 9 years. There was a group of ladies I got together with once a week to just fellowship, have refreshments and sew together. It was called the "Knitting Club," but I don't know how to knit (yet) and most of the other women didn't actually knit either. We worked on whatever hand sewing we wanted to--quilting, cross-stitch, crochet, even mending. This group had been getting together for over 20 years. I was honored and privileged to be included in the group and we had a lot of sweet fellowship together. These ladies were from various different religious affiliations and I tried to be a witness of true Christianity and a spokesman for The Church of God. We had a special love for one another. It was so sweet that 8 of these ladies took time out of their schedules to meet together for about 4 hours on Friday afternoon before the CO Retreat which was held about 25 miles from Howard. One of the ladies drove me to the campground after our fellowship. As was the custom whenever we met for refreshments, they asked me to pray over the meal. I eked out a prayer through my tears of gratefulness for the Lord allowing me another session with these friends. God was so good to allow me that special time. --Hmmmm. I got sidetracked from the CO Retreat, didn't I? Sorry. The theme of this Retreat was "Rest in the Lord." It was SUCH a restful weekend! I really enjoyed getting to be a TAP Leader (Talk And Pray group). It's been a long time since I've had a TAP group. I had fun preparing for it and I thoroughly enjoyed our 3 sessions together. Sister Bishop was the Guest Speaker for both Retreats and she's ALWAYS such a blessing! I love her so much and thank God for providing me such a wonderful friend during this critical time of my life. God put the two of us together as she, too, is facing a critical time in her life. It's like God has groomed us for years and been saving this special relationship to bless us both with right now at this time. God is SOOOO GOOD! My daughter (in-law) was the Director and she did a marvelous job of preparing and directing the Retreat. It was fantastic to get to be with ALL of our kids and grandkids the day after Retreat. We enjoyed a day of fun, fellowship and laughter at Jon and Em's house in Denver. Again, God was SOOO GOOD to allow us that time and opportunity. And then God protected us on our way back home to Cleveland and spared us from a tornado that crossed the Interstate just minutes before we would have been through that area. There was a semi truck and some other vehicles that were damaged, but God spared us any damage or injury. Thanks be to God.
That's the end of the Fall Retreat season. There are more to come in the Spring and I've already been invited to 2. I LOVE Ladies' Retreats! I'm hoping I can make it to both of them.
Meanwhile, I give thanks and praise to God for His marvelous love, mercy and faithfulness. I know I'm not worthy of all He's done for me, but I'm SOOOOO grateful and I want to live my life surrendered to Him and His perfect will, whatever that would be. I could never praise and thank God enough for all His blessings He's poured out on me.

Mommy Encouragement

This poem was in one of my Christian Woman magazines and I thought it would be an encouragement to the mommies of small children out there. Both of my girls are better mommies to their little ones than I was. I'm so thankful for that. I wish somebody had encouraged me to involve my little ones more. Maybe they did and I didn't listen. I know my husband often tried to get me to let the children do more chores when they were little, but I was too much of a perfectionist and too impatient. I was BAD! I wish I could have made myself chill out and RELAX and let the kids be more hands-on. If I had it to do over again . . .

Building Bridges
by Darlene Miller

As I was washing dishes, oh! my hands were moving fast,
And still upon occasion a dish came flying past.
For there beside me, to my left, a little lad of three
Was standing on a kitchen chair, so gladly "helping" me!
He filled my sink much faster than my hands could get things clean.
A child with more ambition I don't think I've ever seen!
And on my right...another chair...another lad of three
(A twin to brother on the left, most folks can plainly see).
He too was helping joyfully, a smile upon his face,
While for each cup or bowl he rinsed, somehow he found a place.
They looked a bit haphazard, all those dishes left to dry,
And it seemed inefficient when observed by well-trained eye.
Two little boys were soaking wet when we at last were through,
I could have done a better job all by myself, it's true.
Yet I feel so rewarded, though my dishes may not shine,
For we were building bridges from their little hearts to mine!

We've Topped 1,000!

I told myself I’d post a new entry when my profile views topped 1000. Well, it’s time! I can hardly believe there have been 1000+ views in the time my blog has been up. What’s it been? A little over a year? Whatever the case, it’s certainly time for an update.

We’re all settled in our new home in Cleveland. It’s been a really HOT summer. We’ve had a lot less rain than normal, so we hear. And I would believe it, judging by the water level in the pond out front. But the past 3 or 4 weeks we’ve got some good rains. The past couple of days we’ve had some serious rain/thunder storms. I’ve had to close down the computer and quit working on the WMB Cookbook every afternoon this week. Ah, yes, the WMB Cookbook. Boy, has that turned into a chore! I don’t know if it’s been all that much work or if I’m just taking it hard. I do know that it’s taking a lot more time than I originally anticipated. But the Assembly is fast approaching and I’ve got to rush to get it done so we can have it available for purchase. Sister Bishop is counting on me. –Which brings me to the next subject, the General Assembly. There’s much anticipation for this upcoming event. As Brother Smith and I have traveled to State Conventions and Camps we’re detecting a lot of excitement over this year’s Assembly. Everywhere we go the people are looking forward to it and already sending up lots of prayers for God’s will to be done. That’s all that any of us desire—God’s will. We are often assured that folks are remembering to pray that God will give Brother Smith a heart after God’s heart. We appreciate the prayers so much! The harder the devil fights, the more grace God gives to withstand the darts. We’re determined to keep the armor of God in tact—our loins girt about with truth, the breastplate of righteousness, wearing gospel-of-peace shoes, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit and above all, the shield of faith. This past year has been quite a journey of faith. When I think about what all was happening in our lives a year ago today—the horrible fear that accompanied the possibility of our lives being completely torn to pieces and the uncertainty of our future—and I see how the Lord has delivered us from the raging threats and terrorism, I’m overwhelmed with gratefulness for the Lord’s protecting hand. We determined to trust in the Lord to be our Deliverer, our Attorney, our Defense and our Legal Counsel and He didn’t let us down. We’ve had daily counseling sessions with the Lord throughout the year and He’s never led us wrong. If we listen to Him, He guides us safely along the path. There have been repeated attacks from the enemy along the way but the armor of God has protected us. We’ve surrendered our will to the Lord over and over again and given Him our hurts to heal, and asked Him to see that no root of bitterness is left inside our hearts where only He can see. We pray for those who despise us and wish us harm and ask the Lord to deliver them. God has been SOOOO faithful! We know we’re not worthy to fill the position we’re in and don’t understand why we’re here, but one thing’s for sure—the Lord completely convinced me on Sunday of last year’s Assembly that this is God’s will. Nobody can convince me otherwise. I may not understand it, nobody else may understand it, but I KNOW this is God’s will and He performed miracles in order to cause it to happen. Since I KNOW this is God’s will for our lives, I’m endeavoring to cheerfully bloom where I’m planted. We didn’t get here by mistake. God put a lot of work into this, and I want to give my very best effort back to Him. I want to daily surrender my will, my pride, my passion, my wants and desires, my ALL to Him and to serve The Church of God. Here am I, Lord, use me.

854 views!

I can hardly believe it! 854 profile views on my blog. It's probably the same 4 or 5 people looking around, seeing if I've posted anything new or not. The answer most often is, NOT!

It's late April now. We're all moved in our new house in Cleveland. All the boxes are unpacked. I haven't done any painting or wallpapering yet. From the looks of our upcoming schedule I won't be doing much, if any, of that until either late summer or fall. Maybe winter?

God has been SO GOOD to us and we're humbly grateful for His hand of protection and provision. I've been so blessed to have attended 5 Ladies' Retreats since the Assembly. Each one was wonderful and I was enriched by attending. Sister Bishop and I have become quite a team and has been with me at each Retreat. She's got a great sense of humor and we always laugh a LOT, all the while enjoying the wonderful blessings of the Lord. How great is that? Meanwhile, my husband has traveled to Mexico twice for Conventions, as well as to Honduras and Argentina to teach in the BTI-sponsored LPD classes. He brought back lots of great pictures and testimonies of the moving of the Holy Ghost during the classes and services. That man of mine who HATES to fly has done quite a lot of it this year. :)

Once again I want to thank those of you who are praying for us and for The Church of God. I've never been more thankful for the precious Word of God than I have in the past year. It truly has been the LIVING WORD and my faithful Guide. Just today I was checking out all the scriptures in the Bible that have the word "trust" in them. What a blessing it was! In closing I'll leave you with the very center verse of the whole Bible. If we really lived our life with this firmly implanted in our hearts and minds we'd save ourselves a lot of heartache and sorrow: "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man" (Psa. 118:8).