...Place in our hearts....

We always strive to do God's will in our lives.....let's let Him place it in our hearts instead.

Celebrate The Day!

Easter is over, but our Lord still lives in the hearts of His "Easter People".

"We are called to be an Easter people, a resurrection people…people who proclaim life in a world of death and distraction. May we live together (united, even though we are part of different local communities) as the people of God in the everyday work to which God has called us…"
~Todd Hiestand, (Field Notes on Missional Leadership and Community Formation)

To Celebrate each and everyday, a new day;

a new moment;
a new phase of enhancing the world around us;
a new day to make a difference.
Go....Celebrate.

Isaiah 25:9
^9-10Also at that time, people will say,
"Look at what's happened! This is our God!
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us!
This God, the one we waited for!
Let's celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation.
God's hand rests on this mountain!"

HE HAS RISEN!!

CELEBRATE!!
HE GAVE US HOPE!!


Matthew 28:1-10

¹ After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

It Was For You...

John 19:28

...Jesus said, “It is finished.”
With that, he bowed his head
and gave up his spirit.

~Maunday Thursday~

We remember tonight at the Maunday Thursday service at church the Last Supper that Christ shared with his followers. What a wonderful way to share the symbols of what He did for us. Every time my church partakes in the communion service, it touches my soul and reminds me of the life that was given just for me.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts of Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.


John 13:1-17

¹ It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

The part of this scripture that really shook me tonight during the foot washing service at church was that Christ knew who betrayed Him, but still washed the feet of Judas. Can we do the same to those that betray us? Can we shed our outward clothing and use them as a towel to dry the feet of those that do us wrong? Are we willing to set aside the hurt and anger to be humble to be a servant to them?

Emptying himself, that our joy might be full, he fed the hungry, healed the sick, ate with the scorned and forgotten, washed his disciples' feet, and gave a holy meal as a pledge of his abiding presence. By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your Church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the spirit.

"Stand On What You Believe"

STAND ON WHAT YOU BELIEVE

DON'T WAIVER

^{Psalm 18:2
2} The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.

No matter how big or small you think your Rock is; it is non moving and will be firm beneath your feet. Don't leave the Rock . It's a safe place to be.

~~Hear the Whispers~~

In our daily lives of living in such a rush, we sometimes forget to stop and breath; stop and listen; stop and heal from the day. Our soul needs to be refreshed and heal from the noise of this world. Turn to the whispers of God and breath....deep......heal.

Proverbs 18:8
⁸The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

Job 26:14
¹⁴ Those are only on the edges of what he does.
They are only the soft whispers that we hear from him.
So who can understand how very powerful he is?"

Be You, Don't Compromise!

~Keep Your Integrity In Tact~

~Stay Firm On What You Believe~
~Keep True To Your Faith~

Proverbs 2:20-22
^20-22 So—join the company of good men and women,
keep your feet on the tried-and-true paths.
It's the men who walk straight who will settle this land,
the women with integrity who will last here.
The corrupt will lose their lives;
the dishonest will be gone for good.

Celebrate! He has come!

We celebrated Palm Sunday today waving Palms and singing "Tell me the stories of Jesus".
The children marched in waving and singing!
It was quite a celebration to start Sunday services with.
Shouldn't all of us celebrate every morning by waving praises to our Savior?
Have the celebration in your heart, Christ has come!

John 12:13
^12-15The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered:

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in God's name!

~Forever Safe~

1 John 2:1 & 2
"And if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

What is it to become a Christian.?It is to employ Christ as your Advocate, by committing your cause entirely to Him. You can not be saved by your works, you can not be saved by your sufferings, by your prayers in any way except by the intervention of this Advocate. "He ever lives to make intercession for you."

He proposes to undertake your cause; and to be a Christian is to at once surrender your whole cause, your whole life and being to Him as your Advocate.

He is an Advocate that loses no causes. Every cause committed to Him, and continued in His hands, is infallibly gained. His advocacy is all-prevalent. God has appointed Him as an Advocate; and wherever He appears in behalf of any sinner who has committed his cause to Him one word of His is sure to prevail. Hence you see,

The safety of believers. Christ is always at His post, ever ready to attend to all the concerns of those who have made Him their Advocate. He is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him; and abiding in Him you are forever safe.
~(Charles Finney, SermonIndex.net)

Be Strong and Fight for What's Right!

Be strong and step out with the whole armor of God on.
You can stand up for what is right in this world and fight for it.
Strength, Courage and Hope
will lead your steps to Victory.

Ephesians 6:10-18
¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.With this in mind, be alert and

always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

"Be Still And Know"

"Close your eyes...reflect on Him....Be Still....And Listen...."

Psalm 46:10
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”


There are times to speak up and take action--but sometimes it's important to just humbly sit back and silently reflect on God's presence. This psalm encourages us to take time to meditate quietly in the assurance that God is in control.

So as your world crumbles around you, the call from Scripture is: don’t flinch in faith in God. Stand still — not because of a self-made confidence, not because you are the most composed person in the face of disaster, not because “you’ve seen it all.” Be still because of what you know about God.

Sing Of Joy!

Psalms 30:1-20

¹ I will exalt you, LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
² LORD my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
³ You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.

⁴ Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

⁶ When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
⁷ LORD, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain^[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.

⁸ To you, LORD, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me;
LORD, be my help.”

¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
¹² that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you forever.

"I Believe & Will Never Give Up"

^{Mark 9:23 (The Message)
23}Jesus said, "If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."

^{Mark 10:27 (The Message)}

²⁷Jesus was blunt: "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it."

All is possible to those who believe within God, because no power can stand against God. But God alone is all-powerful. Belief will not exempt us from suffering. It will not make us popular, nor will it make our earthly life easy. At times, believers of today will be, as many were in the past, called to witness Christ by sufferings.
But belief in God gives us power.
Belief in God gives us life in God Himself.

Standing in God's Rain!

SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS!
Stand in God's blessings Everyday!

Psalm 72:1
...Please stand up for the poor,
help the children of the needy,
come down hard on the cruel tyrants.
Outlast the sun, outlive the moon—
age after age after age.
Be rainfall on cut grass,
earth-refreshing rain showers.
Let righteousness burst into blossom
and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing.

Proverbs 8:32
"So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed. Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don't squander your precious life. Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day's work. When you find me, you find life, real life, to say nothing of God's good pleasure.

Sweet Dreams!!

Sweet Dreams!

Psalm 127:2
² It is useless to work so hard for a living,
getting up early and going to bed late.
For the Lord provides for those he loves,
while they are asleep.

Blessings come to us from our Father even when we sleep!

~ Cause ~ Cost ~ Condition ~ Consequences ~

John 3:16
¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

For God had a cause...He loved you so very much that He gave His only Son, which cost Him dearly with the condition that you believe in Him so you will not perish but have the consequences of eternal life.

Amazing!!

We should all have a "Cause, a Cost, a Condition, a Consequence"
for our purpose in life every day. Find your cause, expect the cost of giving knowing there are conditions for the consequences you seek.
Think about that.....long and hard. If we all did this, what a difference we
can make in our world!

Laughter...it's good for the soul!

The little joys of life....
Laughter heals the soul!

Psalm 126:2
²We celebrated with laughter

and joyful songs.

In foreign nations it was said,

"The LORD has worked miracles

for his people."

Back To Forgiveness.....

She stood up at the end of her trial, turned and looked at those who brought this injustice to her and said "I forgive you". Even though giggles and chuckles were heard from those with the hearts of malice against her, she kept her composure as she was escorted out in shackles and chains. She knows in her heart as her God knows, she meant it.

A Story About Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21-22
²¹At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?"

²²Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.

Forgiving one another is the hardest thing to do and the most beneficial. As God's chosen people we are to forgive all grievances we have between one another because of the example set forth to us by Christ.

Colossians 3:12-14

¹²God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.

¹³Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.

¹⁴Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.

Look Up At The Stars!!!

Remember the Stars!!

Today I finished a fun filled day grilling hot dogs and hamburgers with the kids and grandkids at my home. Busyness and games kept the day fun and filled with laughter. When all left and the house got quiet again, my husband, best friend and I went outside and gazed up at the clear night sky. The stars were incredibly clear and bright. One can't help in thinking of God and all of His glory. Remember the stars and who put them there for us to awe over and remember, there is a purpose in all of God's creation. He gives us the joy in our heart and uses his creation for His reminders of that.

Matthew 2:9
⁹ When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy.

Friendships~

"Betrayal is the violation of an expressed or perceived trust by a person or persons with whom a person relies upon for some aspect of his or her life." (Wikipeida)

At times, we find people in our lives that we seem to connect with and enjoy sharing quality time. With these people, we grow and learn to trust with confidence that the friendship is real and is a part of our lives. Honesty, truthfulness and trust can be broken at any moment. When a 'better' offer of friendship appears... or selfishness seems more important than caring anymore...When does the friendship end and the betrayal start? Jesus had his heart broken when Judas betrayed. He became selfish and listened to the 'wrong crowd' that convinced him it was right. Jesus never let the friendship go, Judas did.

John 13:21
²¹ After Jesus had said this, he was deeply troubled and declared openly,
I am telling you the truth: one of you is going to betray me.

Christ will never, every leave you alone. He will never, ever betray or turn his back on you. He will always be the best friend you can every have.