Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Happy Birthday Jesus!



Now is the moment for the Spirit of Christmas…
The joy of giving, the smiles of children, the music of bells,
The twinkle of lights in crisp evening air,
Warmth and love of family and friends, sharing of special memories…
The gentle Spirit of Love that falls quietly upon all of mankind,
Seeking the single day of celebration bringing Peace upon the world.

Merry Christmas… and may God bless us, everyone.

Liz S (1990)

Friday, December 20, 2013

Christians speak up!

I posted this on Facebook today:
 
I am a Christian. I believe in the Holy Bible. I believe every single page, and every single word is the Word of God Almighty. I believe every single word is absolutely accurate and true. Every single word. Period. 

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB)

 
Phil Robertson has it right! And, Satan doesn't like it one bit.

Monday, December 16, 2013

I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.
3 John 1:4 NLT

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Sunday songs


The author and composer of ‘Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus’, Helen H. Lemmel, relates that one day, in 1918, a missionary friend gave her a tract entitled “Focused.”  The pamphlet contained these words—
“So then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness.”

These words made a deep impression upon Helen Lemmel. She could not dismiss them from her mind. She recalls this experience following the reading of that tract:

“Suddenly, as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody. The verses were written the same week, after the usual manner of composition, but none the less dictated by the Holy Spirit.”
(Adapted from Kenneth Osbeck)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This has always been a favorite hymn of mine.  When times are tough, I only have to turn my heart and my soul and my eyes to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, and I will feel His comfort and peace.  (And then I will hum this song over and over and over and over again.) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus’ 

Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
Oh soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness to see
There's a light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Refrain

His words shall not fail you, He promised
Believe Him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell

Refrain

Oh soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness to see
There's a light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Thursday, December 12, 2013

☆•*¨**•.¸¸

When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you.
Isaiah 43:2 NLT

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

quick quotes



~Patrick Henry~

It can not be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!


The Constitution is not an instrument for the government 
to restrain  the people, it is an instrument for the people 
to restrain the government - lest it come to 
dominate our lives and interests.

The Bible is worth all the other books 
which have ever been printed.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

*¨**•.¸¸♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥



This morning, as I lay on the couch, staring out the door, I found myself deep in thought.  So deep, I wasn’t sure where I’d gone.   Maybe in the mountains, in a cozy cabin, warm fire burning, with the love of my life.  Maybe in the world outside my door.

It’s a very gray day.  Dreary.  It’s wet and soggy from the rain.  The trees are almost naked as the last of the leaves float down to the yard, joining the carpet beneath. Squirrels are up to their usual antics, curling their bushy tails as they dance and prance about snatching every bird seed they can.  They fly from deck to rail to limb to arbor.  But they will never know how much I enjoy them.   

Birds are pecking away at the feeders, devouring both seed and suet. They are skirting across the deck, hopping around, flying to a shrub and back again, looking for a free spot at the table.  (Thankfully, they seem oblivious to the chatter and the swooshing tail of the cat inside.  Or sometimes at the kitchen sink.) They sing, they chirp, they speak, they call, they tweet, they squeak, they chat, and yes, they twitter.  They gather around and flap about in the bird bath.  But they will never know how much I enjoy them.

I’m fascinated.  Make no mistake. The world outside my door is enchanting.   I take many pictures, trying to capture the unmistakable beauty of the world outside my door.  

On this misty, gray, dreary day, I’m actually quite content.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

who was lottie moon?


I have attended a Southern Baptist Church all of my life.  I grew up knowing about Lottie Moon - the namesake of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions.  She was much like today's missionaries. Lottie was a hard-working, deep-loving Southern Baptist who labored tirelessly so her people group could know Jesus.  

Lottie wrote many letters home, urging Southern Baptists to greater missions involvement and support. One of those letters triggered the first Southern Baptists' Christmas offering for international missions.  By 1888, Southern Baptist women had organized and helped collect $3,315, enough to send three new missionaries to China.  In 1912, a severe famine came to China.  People everywhere were starving and Lottie gave her food to the people.  Lottie became sick and boarded a ship to the States to recover.  She died on that ship on Christmas Eve, 1912.  On Christmas Eve.
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
In 1918, Woman's Missionary Union (WMU) named the annual Christmas offering for international missions after the woman who had urged them to start it. 

*** ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!***
In 2013 Southern Baptists celebrated 125 years of annual giving to support international missionaries. More than 3.5 billion has been given to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, whose namesake inspired the first collection of gifts in 1888 so the world might know Christ. Then, as now, every penny you give to Lottie Moon supports missionaries as they share the Gospel overseas.   

June 5, 2013 RICHMOND, Va (Erich Bridges)  —Southern Baptists gave $149.3 million to the 2012 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.

The 2012 Lottie Moon offering, finalized June 5, totaled $149,276,303.72. It surpassed last year’s offering of $146.8 million by more than $2.4 million and marked the third-highest amount given in the offering’s 124-year history.