Come to Jesus like the lowly Shepherds

   
     The Shepherds came just as they were.  They were dirty, smelly, and had nothing to bring to the King. 
They were poor and had nothing of value to bring to a King.  We all came to King Jesus with nothing of value to bring.  Our righteousness was like filthy rags.  Shepherds stayed  in the fields for months.  They were not pleasant to be around, because of the smells.  But, so was the atmosphere in which Jesus was born. It was a birthing place for animals to have their young.  It was a noisy, crowded, and smelly, not a place for a child or a KING to be born.
   
   We come to Jesus in our sin,dirty,defiled by the world, and in need of the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from our sins. The Angel announced the arrival of Jesus.  When, we see our need for the Savior, we need to come to Him day or by night. The Shepherds made haste to come to Him.  We need to make haste to come to Him everyday.  They bowed to worship.  Let's bow to worship all our days. 

    Worship was over, the Shepherds left to spread the good news all over the city.  They forgot about themselves, and what the people thought of them.  Shepherds were not welcome in the city.  They wanted everyone to know about the Savior.  We have such good news.  It is too good to keep to ourselves.  Love tells others.  

Happy Thanksgiving

Thank you friends for your prayers.  We are blessed, but still need prayer for a complete recovery.  God is so good.  The Lord richly bless all of you.
Like the leaves that have fallen all around us, so are God's blessings.  His blessings are new every morning.  Great is His faithfulness.

Faydean and family.

God's special people sent to bless us

     We all have so much to be grateful for.  God has sent special people into our lives to minister to us.  One person in my life was Dr. Jack Hudson.  He told me of our great Savior’s love for me in a way I could understand.  We all have someone that God sent our way to help us and be a blessing to us.

     God sent Squanto to bless the Pilgrims with the knowledge of how to grow gardens, and do other things, so they could survive.  He sent Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf, a teacher that taught sign language, so she could communicate.  Annie Sullivan helped stubborn Helen to read, write, and speak. Using Louis Braille system of raised dots could help the blind to write. A solder that used night writing taught Louis how to use raised letters to communicate in the dark.  This helped keep secrets from the enemy.  Louis learned how to develop with dots a system to help the blind to write.

    Let’s pause to be thankful for God’s special people God has blessed us with.

    A Mother put a door in front of her children to keep them warm.  The little boy asked,” what happened to the children that didn’t have a door”?

    

The Leaves are -- A new season begins

Faith Under Fire

Faith Under Fire

      God wants us to have a living faith. To have an effective pray life, we must have faith in the Living God.  Our faith is put to the test many times as we pray for our families.   Our prayers must be based on the character of God, rather than what we see, what happens, or if God answers our prayers.  God had Joseph in the tarrying place.  A place of pain, weariness, and darkness.  Ps. 103:17-19.  Joseph was laid in iron.  "His soul entered into the iron."  Betrayed by family, far away from home and anything that resembled God, he lays in prison.  Enough to make anyone bitter, but He trusted God.  What kept him, he believed God was with him.      

      Enduring faith develops only under pressure, and in a place of waiting on the Lord.  Joseph knew God in a deeper way and he became more fruitful,   The leaves of youth flew away like the leaves on the autumn trees secrete to winter's cold.  His godliness became evident in the prison.  The guard and the prisoners saw it and marveled.   He gave up his authority to be over the prison to Joseph.

      As through a very small hole, we see a great view.  The great heart of Joseph poured out sympathy to the butler and the baker, who fell within his watch.  These condemned to death tugged at the heart strings of Joseph and he sought to find the answer to their dilemma.  He seeks to comfort these as he had so many others that came his way.  The butler would have good to come to him the other would die.  But he introduced him to someone bigger than death. 

      There is ministry in the tarrying place, it may the ministry of intercession.  Joseph went on to be second in place over Egypt.  The skill he learned in Potipher's house, and the prison.

      The place of tarrying is a very important place,  It's not easy.  The iron dug into Joseph's flesh, but he keep his soul from bitterness.  We are kept by the power of God.  We suffer to have the fleshly fall off and  so the glory of God will show through our brokenness. He breaks us time and time again so the light of His presence shines out.  Do not despise the hard places.  Don't keep the glory in by being bitter

Death Shadows

 Death Shadows

Sometimes, we feel like torrents of waters are running over our heads.  Trouble stalks our every move. Like Jonah, we feel as if we have been swallowed up and wonder, when- we will be spit out.  A great gulf appears to be between people that try to add a little comfort.  We look in the faces of Doctors, nurses, friends, family and others to give us hope.  To lift us up, from the destruction, that has taken over our lives.  Jaws of death grips our love one with such a strong grip.  We cry to God, He feels so far away.  Peace comes on shuffling feet and so quickly evaporates.  Trouble wants to rip at our souls.  Darkness snuffs out the light.  Day after days of turmoil backs up a little and the time you think "O, I can get a good breath", only to have the steps of death march in again.  You are left bleeding, bruised, and wondering why?  After, awhile you feel more dead than alive.  The darkness feels like the dark plague of Egypt. 

Some brave souls go into the valley with heads held high, but soon like the rest of us. Their heads are lowered, creeping along, turning at every noise.  The Valley of the Shadows delights in pushing human courage and confidence to the edge, then shoving them over.  The cold in the valley pushes you onward. Job lived in the valley for about a year.  It is talked about in the Book of Job more than anywhere else in the Bible.  He said "I wish I had died before any eye saw me.  If only I had not come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave". 

The valley leaves us second guessing our decisions and worse second guessing God.  We never enter the valley on our own, nor are we ever abandoned in it. Too many doubts and fear will overtake you.  He promises to be with us, whether we feel Him or not.  He has promised to never leave us alone.  We come slowly out of the valley and can see His foot prints have been there all the time.  Times we felt the prayers being offered up for us.  Other times we struggled to keep going.

BE THANKFUL FOR WORK

     Thank God every morning

when you get up that you have some-

thing to do which must be done, whether

you like it or not. 

Being forced to work, and forced to do your

best, will breed in you temperance and self-control

diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content,

and a hundred virtues which the idle never know.

                           - Charles Kingsley

God's Healing Touchl

 My Son has been very sick, since last December.  Four times we saw God pull him from death's door.  Death has a sound to it.  It has a smell, and a voice like no other.  It's been a battle to keep him alive. He's been in four hospitals and about ten emergency rooms.  Mayo's didn't know what to do for him.  That was very discouraging to have a hospital, we had heard so much about to say those words.

Each hospital tried their best, but said they didn't know what to do for him.  Northwestern did the most, but couldn't find what caused it, or how to cure it.

I'm glad we have a loving Heavenly Father that knows what the problem is and how to fix it. Day after day, we had to rely on the Lord for strength.  We still have to he is not totally healed.  Many people have joined us in prayer, and for that I am so grateful.  I felt strength coming into me and I knew it was from your prayers. Thank you so much.

We pray for his healing and God to use him for His glory.  He loves Jesus and want so to do a ministry for Him.

If we suffer with Him, we will reign with Him.  All Christians enter into His suffering one way or another.
Trials loosen the grip this world has on us and causes us to yearn for Heaven.

LABOR DAY

LABOR DAY

It will be a great day when everyone

         Who has a job is working

The best kind of pride is that which compels a man to

    do his best work-even when no one is looking.

A man can live pretty well these days if he works hard,

tends to his business, saves his money-

                 and has three jobs.

THE POWER OF YOUR LIFE IS NOT MEASURED

      BY YOUR "SPECIAL GIFTS',  AS MUCH AS

         BY YOUR ORDINARY DAILY WORK.

Sign in store window: WANTED- a clerk to work

       8 hours a day to replace one who didn't.

Only a Little

ONLY A LITTLE

Only a seed- but it chanced to fall

In a little cleft of a city wall,

And taking root, grew bravely up

Till a tiny blossom crowned its top

Only a thought-but the work it wrought

Could never by tongue or pen be taught;

For it ran through a life like a thread of gold,

And the life bore fruit- a hundred fold.

Only a word-but 'twas spoken in love,

With a whispered prayer to the Lord above;

And the angels in heaven rejoiced once more,

For a new-born soul "entered in by the door."

                                                                 Unknown

A Life Well Lived

We are to rise up and give warning, the hour is late for our country and for the lost.  The hour is late, it cost the men a night without sleep, cost them their safety.  It was not an hour of convenience.  The British were close to them.  It put their families in danger.   The night was long for Paul Revere and the two other riders, but also, for their families.  Revere's wife didn't know what had happened to him.  She thought he had been captured by the British and sent someone to pay the British to release him. 

When, we stand up for Christ Satan attacks us or our family.  Unaware of the enemies attacks, we must warn them that the enemy of their souls is coming toward them roaring-seeking who he can devour.  Paul Revere brought together thirty patriots known as the Mechanics to watch the movement of the British.  This group were to collect information and then discuss the proper action to take.   The plan worked until Dr. Ben Church joined the group, he was a spy for the British Army.

The British devised to mask their march on Concord and Lexington.  The Mechanics saw through their scheme.  Joseph Warren charged Revere with the task of warning Samuel Adams and John Hancock.  They were targets of the enemies operation 1774-1775.  Revere was employed as a express rider to carry news, messages, and copies of resolution to New York  and Philadelphia.   Revere was sent to tell Adams and Hancock the British were coming to arrest them.   Earlier Revere had hung two lanterns in the bell tower in a church where people could see.  One lantern they are coming by land, two by water.  On the way to Lexington Revere stopped by every house to warn them.  He didn't yell out a warning.  The British were too near and would have heard him.  When he arrived at Lexington around midnight.  Where Adams and Hancock were staying the guard ask them to be quiet.  They were sleeping.  Revere said you will soon hear a lot of noise the Regulars are coming out.   That was his message, not the British are coming.

Revere was not only one out warning people that night.  William Dawes sent out with same message, but on a longer route.  They continued on to Concord Massachetts ,  they were joined by third rider Dr. Prescott.  All three were arrested.  Prescott escaped immediately, Dawes some after him.  Revere was held, but later released.

Revere had other people helping him.  We are to be watchmen on the wall, to warn others of danger.  Satan is coming to steal, kill, and destroy your life.  He wants to take you to hell.  Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost.  He will save you from sin, exchange your sin for His righteousness, if you will call upon the name of the Lord.  You will be saved.

Revere became an engraver, dentist, manufactured gun powder, and printed country's first money.   He commanded Castle William at Boston Harbor.   After the war, he learned to roll copper and opened the country's first copper rolling mill.  The copper business is still in operation today.  Operated hardware store, and later a foundry.  He was an artisan, a master craftsman, and a silversmith.  A man was identified only by the teeth Revere had made him.  He died in the war.  He dressed like an Indian in the Boston tea party.  He said whatever we do let's do it well.   Good advice for all of us. 

Would we have ridden through the night to warn others?  How far will we go to deliver others?

Be Still and Know

The last part of Isaiah says their strength is to sit still.  In the midst of great trials, turmoil, and suffering, the best thing to do is to do nothing.  We must hear God speak before making any move.

……………………………………………………………………………..

Psalm 46:10 Be Still and Know.

In the natural things looked bleak for Daniel. He had been thrown in the lion’s den for praying to his God.  He looked like a light healthy snack for the hungry lions. But God had a plan to turn Satan’s plan upside down.  He simply sent an angel to shut the lion’s mouth.  Daniel could have used one of them as a pillar and went to sleep. Daniel could sleep, but the King couldn’t.  Angels put one to sleep and keep the other one awake.  The next day Daniel was found to be in better shape than the King.

The King had made a huge statue of himself and commanded everyone to bow to it.  The three Hebrew children won’t bow.  The King got so angry-he had not taken courses in anger control, he heated the furnace so-o hot the men that threw them in went to ashes to ashes immediately.  Jesus shows up and proves the fire had no power over him.  The only thing that burned was the cords that bound the three Hebrew children.  The King by this time demands that no one pray to any other God, but the God of Daniel’s. God used these four obedient men to show a nation that He is Almighty God.

The King ask Daniel was the God you serve able to deliver you.  The world will be soon be asking us this.

In quietness and trust is our strength.

Psalm 46;10 “Be still and know that I am.” God speaks to the hushed soul. We can only hear, when all the other voices are quiet.  It was when Beethoven became deaf that he heard the sweetest music and produce his greatest masterpiece.